Kucherov draws ban for Game 3

NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov has been suspended for Game 3 of the Lightning’s firstround series against the Blue Jackets.

Kucherov was suspended for boarding Blue Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara late in the Lightning’s 5-1 loss in Game 2 on Friday night to trail 2-0 in the series. Kucherov was given a major penalty and ejected for hitting Nutivaara in a defenseless position with 4:26 remaining in the lopsided defeat.

The Presidents’ Trophy winning Lightning will have to try to win Sunday in Columbus without the player who put up a league-best 128 points during the season. They also could be without banged-up Norris Trophy caliber defenseman Victor Hedman, who didn’t practice Saturday.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he hopes Hedman can play.

But Kucherov is out after what the NHL called a “dangerous hit on a player in an exposed position.”

In a video announcing the suspension, the league said Kucherov’s action falls in the category of message-sending because it came in the final minutes of a one-sided game.

Nobody needed to remind the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday that only four teams in NHL history have won a playoff series after losing the first three games.

In the locker room at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, the players were keenly aware of what is at stake Sunday. Defeat the upstart New York Islanders for the first time in this first-round playoff series or deal with the unseemly prospect of a 3-0 series deficit.

After losing back-toback games on Long Island, the Penguins are hoping a change of scenery will change the result when Game 3 is contested Sunday at noon inside PPG Paints Arena.

“I think our mindset has got to be to go in with the urgency and desperation to get a win,” captain Sidney Crosby said after a crisp 20-minute practice. “Unfortunately, we weren't able to get one there, but we're coming back home, and it's a big game.”