Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Joel Vermin, Michael Bournival From Syracuse
The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forwards Joel Vermin and Michael Bournival from the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
The holidays are quickly approaching, but things haven’t exactly been “peace on Earth and goodwill toward men” here in the Bolts Nation as of late. In addition to dropping their third-straight game, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been forced to deal with an abundant amount of injuries to key players.
Right now, the Tampa Bay Lightning are heading into tonight’s contest against the St. Louis Blues without the assistance of Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan. Stamkos will be sidelined until late March after undergoing surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee while Callahan remains Day-to-Day with a Lower-Body Injury.
Not only is this a tremendous loss of leadership for the team, but it is also a rather huge loss on the ice. Callahan has made a name for himself this season as the grit of the team. Cally is strong in front of the net in addition to making the big hits and knocking players off their puck.
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Before his injury on November 15th, Steven Stamkos was leading the way for the Tampa Bay Lightning in goals scored, having already picked up nine goals and 11 assists for a total of 20 points. Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has since taken over for Stamkos in this regard, but imagine where the team would be if both of them were to work together on the ice once again.
In light of everything going on here in the Bolts Nation over the course of the last week and a half, it was high time for Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper to shake things up a little. One of his first strides toward affecting change is to make the call to Syracuse for a little assistance.
According to Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer Bryan Burns, the Lightning have recalled forwards Joel Vermin and Michael Bournival from the Syracuse Crunch. Vermin and Bournival are in a tie for fourth place on the Crunch in terms of overall points.
Both Vermin and Bournival have played in a total of 17 games with the Crunch this season. In that amount of time, Vermin has brought home six goals and five assists for a total of 11 points. At the same time, Bournival has brought home five goals and six assists, also for a total of 11 points.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have found themselves in a tumultuous rut at the moment. Maybe the addition of some of the team’s younger players are just what the Lightning needs to get their heads back in the game and pull themselves out of the hole they seem to have fallen head first into.
Should both Joel Vermin and Michael Bournival play in tonight’s encounter with the Blues, it will not be the first time they have taken NHL ice. Vermin played in a total of six games with the Lightning in the 2015-16 season where he was able to pick up an assist.
Bournival, on the other hand, has played in a total of 89 games in the NHL. The aforementioned games were played over the course of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. In that amount of time, Bournival has brought home 10 goals and nine assists for a total of 19 points.
Things are going to be interesting tonight in St. Louis as the Lightning and Blues do battle on the ice. The Blues are on a two-game winning streak and surely want to keep momentum on their side. However, it’s a dangerous thing to underestimate a team who has their backs against the wall.
The Lightning will be looking to make a statement tonight and finish off their three-game road trip on the right foot. If the Tampa Bay Lightning can get a grasp on some of the chemistry they started off the season with, they will find themselves presented with a good opportunity tonight.
Next: Nikita Kucherov: From Zero to Hero
All the action is set to kick off at 8:00 p.m. from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Tampa Bay Lightning fans can catch all the action on Fox Sports Sun. Prefer to listen to the action? You can tune into 970WFLA or TBL Power Play on iHeartRadio. Need the action on the go? Download the Fox Sports Go app and never miss a game again.