Nikita Kucherov Injury: Updates on Lightning Star's Status and Return

Nikita Kucherov suffered an injury when he collided with a referee in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks. His status for Game 6 was in doubt all the way up until right before the first puck was dropped. 

Alongside Jonathan Drouin, Kucherov was indeed in the starting lineup, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

He was previously listed as "probable" to play, per ESPN's Pierre LeBrun. Kucherov told Katie Strang of ESPN that he would go through warm-ups and talk to Cooper before making a decision on his status.

Below, you can see the sequence of events directly before his departure:

As part of Tampa Bay's "Triplets" line, Kucherov has had a major impact on his team during the postseason. The timing couldn't be much worse for him to go down with an injury.

The chances the Lightning beat the Blackhawks inside the United Center in a Stanley Cup-clinching game have certainly risen with Kucherov back in the lineup.