Huge blow for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nikita Kucherov is sick and won't play against the Detroit Red Wings, the club announced 30 minutes before puck drop.

The 23-year-old Russian sniper is Tampa Bay's most productive player this season, with 38 goals and 80 points in 68 games, but the Lightning will have to find a way without him Thursday at home.

The good news is the opposition is Detroit, officially eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in a generation. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, is three points back of the Boston Bruins for the second wild-card spot in the East, with a game in hand.

With Boston hosting Dallas on Thursday, and likely to take those two points, Tampa Bay needs to win to stay within three.

Kucherov has three goals and five points in three games versus Detroit this season.

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