Lightning not fazed by injuries, remain confident heading into Game 4

TAMPA -- Jon Cooper said Brayden Point "looked as if he was in a car accident."

The Tampa Bay Lightning coach was referring to an incident in which the forward violently crashed into the boards after Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly made contact with him while pursuing a puck in the third period of Toronto's 4-3 overtime win in Game 3 on Saturday.
Cooper said he is "hopeful" that Point, who led the Lightning in goals with 51 during the regular season, will play in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amalie Arena on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, BSSUN). Toronto leads the best-of-7 series 2-1.
For the Lightning, it's just more adversity for a team that has had its share of it through the first three games.
RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Lightning series coverage]
They've been without defenseman Erik Cernak since Game 1, when he received an illegal check to the head from Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting, who was suspended three games for his actions.
They were also without standout defenseman Victor Hedman for two periods in Game 1 and all of Game 2 because of an undisclosed injury.
They're now dealing with Point being banged up.
And through it all, they trail in the series despite being the better team in two of the three games.
In the short term, Cooper's focus is on Point, stating that he admires the 27-year-old's toughness and resiliency. Having said that, he did not like the play in which Point was hurt.
"It looked awful," he said Sunday. "I mean, Morgan, I know him personally. He's a super super human being. He's got a great family. He's not a dirty player.
"Was the incident reckless? For sure. It looked awful. And any time, regardless if it's Brayden Point or whoever, that's a tough tough visual. And so he comes off. And naturally, because he's such a tough tough kid, when you see that, you're thinking the worst."
Rielly was initially given a boarding major on the play, but the call was overturned after a video review. Point was crumpled on the ice for a couple of minutes before eventually going to the locker room but did return later in the game.
"There were so many precautions that went on," Cooper said. "The fact that he came back and played was amazing in itself. But he went through so many different tests. And he was struggling, there's no doubt about it.
"The way he went into that wall, it was a very scary situation."

One player who definitely won't play in Game 4 is Cernak, who Cooper said remains day to day.
The Lightning did get a boost with the return of Hedman, who was his usual dominant self, controlling the pace of the game and showing little to no effects of the ailment that had sidelined him earlier in the series. The 32-year-old played 35 shifts, totaling 32:35 of ice time, and was a force every time he was on the ice.
"There's nothing better out there than competing with the guys," Hedman said. "I felt pretty good. So I expect more out of myself and will just get ready to go again tomorrow.
"This is the time of year when you want to be out there competing and playing these kinds of games. Not being able to go was tough. It's nerve racking sitting on the sidelines and not being able to contribute."
The Lightning outshot Toronto 39-27 in the loss on Saturday and were complimented by Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe for being the better team. But there are no bonus points handed out for artistic merit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The only thing that matters is the result on the scoreboard, and Toronto came out on top.
For Hedman, that's no reason for his team to panic. They've been through hiccups like this during their impressive run of making the Stanley Cup Final the past three seasons. In fact, he liked the way Tampa Bay rebounded from the one-sided 7-2 loss in Game 2. The key: keep pushing.
"It's first to four, not first to two. That's the bottom line," he said. "For us, it's about process. Yesterday was a process game. We bounced back from Game 2. Obviously, not the result we wanted, but that's all it is. It's always the next game.
"We've got to go out and execute and do the same thing next game and, you know, expect a different outcome. So it's obviously a big game for us."
One against a Maple Leafs team he has a lot of respect for.
"We've played them a bunch over the last few years," he said. "They might have a little bit of a different look, but they still play the same way. They have elite skill and if you give them opportunities, they are going to score goals. It's about eliminating their Grade A chances from the slot and keeping their top guys out of our zone as much as we can. They have good [defensemen] that can skate and make plays.
"We know we're playing a great team, and we've known for a while that we were going to play them. We have had time to zero in on each other's strengths and weaknesses. They are a good team. It's a great matchup. I think the fans are enjoying this series so far. We knew this was going to be a long series, and we're just looking forward to the game tomorrow."
One area Cooper is not worried about is in goal, where Andrei Vasilevskiy has received some criticism after allowing 14 goals through the first three games. Asked if he was concerned about that, the coach chuckled.
"Our goalie? He's the man. ... We're nowhere without him," Cooper said. "He's the best in the world. One thing about 'Vasy,' he gets stronger the longer a series goes on."
And if Cooper and Hedman have their way, so too will the Lightning, no matter how banged up they might be.