TAMPA -- Brandon Hagel missed his third straight practice Sunday, but Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he believes the forward will be available for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday.
The Lightning have not played since May 23, when they completed a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round. Tampa Bay will face the winner of the series between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes; Game 7 will take place at PNC Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).
Hagel has played each of the Lightning's 11 games this postseason, but his foot was struck by a puck in Game 2 against the Panthers and he has been dealing with it since. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"We're slowly getting our guys back and trying to get them in a rhythm as we kind of amp it up here for whoever we're going to play," Cooper said. "We're trying to inch along here to kind of replicate something we might see on Wednesday. It's nearly impossible to do, but we had a little more structure. The focus today, as I said, is a little bit more physical contact instead of a kind of wide-open scrimmage."
Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point remains out with a lower-body injury and is unlikely to play the first two games of the series. He has four points (two goals, two assists) in seven games. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev returned to practice after missing Friday.
Cooper didn't want to get into too many specifics about his thoughts on Game 7 between the Hurricanes and Rangers, but he did say that there will be plenty of time to focus on the opponent in the next round as soon as it is determined.
The Lightning, the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division, will start the conference final on the road.
"I'm more about how we're doing as opposed to who we're playing," Cooper said. "We'll have enough time to dig into them. If it's Carolina, we've played them a ton including the playoffs. The Rangers, we haven't played near as much, so they'll be a little bit different.
"They play two contrasting styles as well, but we've played them both in their type of styles. So, we know what we're up against."
Lightning forward Pat Maroon said they're eager to resume playing again after what will be a nine-day layoff. Tampa Bay is seeking its third straight Stanley Cup championship.
"It's nice to have a break for sure, it's nice to refresh the mind and get away from the rink a little bit," Maroon said. "It's been a heck of a couple of years here. Some of us kind of sat down, took it all in, and now we're ready to work, we're ready to accomplish our goal. That's to win."
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