WATCH: Nikita Kucherov boards Kaiden Guhle forcing latter to exit game with injury

The Canadiens suffered a major injury blow when defenseman Kaiden Guhle left Thursday's game against the Lightning with an upper-body injury sustained by a solid hit from Nikita Kucherov.

Guhle got hurt in the first period after Kucherov delivered a hard hit from behind, causing the Canadiens defenseman to crash headfirst into the boards. However, no call was made against the Lightning forward on the play.

Watch the video of Nikita Kucherov's hit on Kaiden Guhle here:

Although he managed to skate off by himself, Kaiden Guhle quickly headed to the locker room and did not return to the team's bench for the start of the second period.

The Canadiens later announced the Guhle would not be returning to the ice for the remainder of the game:

"Defenseman Kaiden Guhle will not return to play tonight (upper body)."

Guhle had clocked only 1:14 minutes of ice time when he sustained the injury against the Lightning.

Nikita Kucherov and Lightning take down the Canadiens with a dominating win

On Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Tampa Bay Lighting at Centre Bell Arena. The contest between the two featured an 11-goal thriller, with the Lightning winning it 7-4.

Nikita Kucherov, leading the NHL in points (133), notched up three points (a goal and two assists) in the matchup. Captain Steven Stamkos also had an impactful game, as the veteran accumulated two goals in the Bolts' win.

Meanwhile, Michael Eyssimont racked up a goal and an assist on the night for the visitors. With the win, the Lightning have now won five of their last six games and move within two points of the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division.

Joel Armia scored twice, while Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield were the other scorers for the Canadiens. Kucherov and the Bolts will be up against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.