Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: May face suspension

Kucherov will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Saturday regarding his boarding penalty Friday against the Blue Jackets' Markus Nutivaara.

During the third period of Game 2, Kucherov tripped Nutivaara, and while Nutivaara was on his knees, Kucherov checked him into the boards. It was clearly a dangerous hit, and Kucherov received a five-minute major and game misconduct for his actions. A hearing of this sort is often followed by a suspension, but we'll have to wait for the official verdict. The Lightning are down 2-0 in the first-round series and can ill-afford to lose their top scorer.