Notebook: No Point update on eve of Game 6

Brayden Point didn't play in Game 5 of Tampa Bay's Eastern Conference Final against the New York Islanders and it's unknown whether he'll be able to play in Game 6 on Thursday.
During media availability Wednesday, a day off for the Lightning as they rest and recover from a 2-1 double overtime loss to the Islanders the previous night, Bolts head coach Jon Cooper wouldn't elaborate on Point's potential return for Game 6, Tampa Bay's second chance to close out the series and move on to the Stanley Cup Final after failing in their bid Tuesday.

Cooper will sometimes use football terms to describe a player's status during the regular season. In that vein, he was asked whether Point is probable, questionable or doubtful for Game 6.
"Ask me that one tomorrow," Cooper answered. "I don't have an answer for that one today."

In a follow-up, Cooper was asked if the score of the series impacts the decision of whether to play Point. Or, if Point's good to go he plays, and if he's not good go to he doesn't play.
"You don't want to put guys in a position where they're not going to be productive," Cooper said. "And so anytime in my history of when guys have been hurt, they don't play the same way. Sometimes you have to protect them from themselves. But in this situation, I'm hoping it's not the last time we're going to see Pointer, and we might be able to see him as early as tomorrow night. I don't have the answer for that. But to answer your question, we put the player first and then we just go from there."
Point missed most of the second period and all of the third period of Tampa Bay's 2-1 win in Game 2 when Nikita Kucherov scored with 8.8 seconds remaining in a tie game. Point wasn't available at all for Game 3 but returned to play most of Game 4 before sitting out the final half of the third period after skating gingerly to the bench following a shift.
The Lightning have lost both games when Point hasn't been available at all for the contest but have still played well enough in his absence to win those games, a break here or there preventing them from doing so.
Point is in a three-way tie with Kucherov and Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead these playoffs with nine goals and 25 points. The 24-year-old center has recorded at least one point in 14 of the 16 games he's played in this postseason.
"We miss Pointer, but I thought we played well with (Anthony) Cirelli too. He's a great player," said Ondrej Palat, when asked what Cirelli brings to the top line when Point can't play. "He's fast. He goes hard on the forecheck. I like to play with both of them. They're great players, and a huge part of our team."
FALSE ALARM: Lightning rookie forward Carter Verhaeghe thought he'd scored his first career playoff goal - and what an enormous goal it would have been - when he found the back of the net midway through the second period to briefly put Tampa Bay in the lead 2-1 for the first time in Game 5.
The goal didn't count, however. New York challenged the play, and Cedric Paquette was clearly offside, the officials wasting little time in the review making the decision to overturn the goal.
Game 5 would remain tied all the way into a second overtime until Jordan Eberle scored to continue the series and force a Game 6.
Verhaeghe said it was "a good feeling" when he thought he'd scored his first goal in the playoffs in a pivotal moment, but he had an idea it would be called back once he reached the celebratory huddle.
"Ceddy told me it was offside right away," Verhaeghe explained. "He was the one that was offside, so he knew."
With Point out for Game 5, Verhaeghe got his fifth start of the playoffs. He's contributed two assists in those five contests and made an impact in Game 5, his overturned goal notwithstanding, by being hard on pucks, injecting more energy into the lineup and making skilled plays at times to be a threat offensively.
If Verhaeghe is needed further in these playoffs, the Lightning coach staff has a lot of confidence in his ability to be a difference maker.

"He came over in a trade with the Islanders," Cooper said, referring to the trade of goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis to New York on July 1, 2017 that brought Verhaeghe to the Lightning organization. "Watching these kids develop, it's pretty cool actually. I still remember the first drill of the first practice we ran, Carter actually got injured and then I never really saw him again for camp. To watch his progression, and another reason the American League is such a beneficial league not only for people like myself with coaching but for players to play in it. Carter's come such a long way and I watched him in the Calder Cup playoffs last year, and if there was a guy that stood out for me it was him. He's not afraid to go to dirty areas and he's got sneaky good skill. But he's really, really worked on that, and then he's worked on his skating. And so, it's great to see what Carter's done to put himself in a position to play in the NHL. Now at some of the biggest times in our organization's history, he's being slotted in to play a role for us."
UNWAVERING CONFIDENCE: Despite missing out on an opportunity to close out the Eastern Conference Final in five games and join the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final, Tampa Bay's confidence hasn't taken a hit.
Just the opposite, Ondrej Palat said when asked if there was any concern amongst his teammates after losing Tuesday night's contest.
"I'm not concerned at all," he said. "We're confident in our group. We're excited about tomorrow's game. I thought we played a good enough game to win, but there's room for improvement always. We're ready for tomorrow."
Cooper was asked which team has more pressure on it right now: a Lightning team that held a 3-1 lead in the series but couldn't close it out in Game 5 or an Islanders team that has a spark after the Game 5 double overtime win but still needs to win the next two games to stave off elimination and advance?
"Pressure is what you make of it, so if you want to succumb to it, you can or if you want to thrive in it, you can," Cooper said. "You've got to make your choice. You've got to embrace these moments. You don't get them that often. So enjoy them. And don't let that pressure get to you and do your best on Thursday night and see what happens."