Tampa Bay Lightning Vs. Vancouver Canucks: Game Day Injury Update
As the Tampa Bay prepare to take on the Vancouver Canucks, we take a closer look at some of the Lightning’s injured players and their status heading into tonight.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been struggling on the ice a little bit as of late. A large part of this could be contributed to the amount of injuries the team has been dealing with as of late. Right now, there are four players who are sidelined due to a number of injuries.
Tonight, the Tampa Bay Lightning will make their way back into the Amalie Arena to take on the Vancouver Canucks for the first time in the 2016-17 season. After suffering a hard-fought 1-0 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Lightning had two days off. This couldn’t possibly have come at a better time.
Given the fact there are so many people dealing with injuries right now, the couple of days off have given those players – and even some that have continued to play through the pain – a chance to relax, decompress, and let their bodies heal from their various maladies.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Before the Lightning take the ice to do battle with the Canucks tonight, let’s take a look at some of the Lightning’s injured players and where they stand as of this morning. Let’s start off with the most obvious.
As almost every Tampa Bay Lightning fan knows by now, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is on the road to recovery after undergoing successful surgery to repair a lateral tear in his right meniscus. Unfortunately, Stamkos’ road to recovery is going to be a little longer than some of the other players on the team.
Steven Stamkos is going to be on the sidelines until at least mid-March as he rehabs from surgery. If things go according to plan, the captain should be back in time to get some games under his belt before the postseason starts. This will allow the team to make the necessary adjustments following his return.
Now, let’s make the jump from the captain to the alternate captain. Ryan Callahan has been sidelined since November 29th with a Lower-Body Injury. Come to find out, it was Callahan’s surgically repaired hip that caused him to miss four games thus far. It seems the injury has been nagging him a bit lately.
Thankfully, Callahan seems to be feeling better since the Lightning had their two days off. While there has been no official word from the Tampa Bay Lightning, there is a possibility Cally could be ready to retake the ice with the team as they face Vancouver tonight.
Next, we have Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison. Garrison has been relegated to the sidelines since the Lightning’s 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Blues on December 1st when Garrison took a nasty puck to the leg causing quite a bit of pain.
According to Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer Bryan Burns, Jason Garrison took the ice with the team yesterday wearing a regular jersey. Much like Callahan, there has been no official word from the team as to whether or not Garrison will be able to join the team on the ice.
At the same time, the fact the Lightning reassigned defenseman Luke Witkowski to the Syracuse Crunch could suggest Garrison is nearing a return to the ice.
Related Story: Ryan Callahan Feeling Better After Break
Last, but not least, this brings us to Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin. Just before game time on Sunday night as the Lightning prepared to take on the Carolina Hurricanes, it was announced that Drouin would not be taking the ice with his teammates due to an undisclosed injury.
According to Bryan Burns, Drouin says that the two-day break did him quite a bit of good and that he’s feeling better now that he’s had an opportunity to relax, decompress, and allow his body to do what it does naturally…heal.
As you can imagine based on the status of the other injured Lightning players, there has been no official word from the Lightning as to whether or not Drouin will be able to take the ice with the team tonight, but things are definitely looking up for the young Lightning forward.
Sure, there aren’t a whole lot of definitive answers at this point. On the bright side, there are only a few hours in between now and when the team takes the ice. As game time inches closer, the bigger picture will undoubtedly become clearer and fans should know more about how tonight is going to play out.
Next: A Break Is Exactly What The Lightning Needs
The action will kick off at 7:30 p.m. tonight from the Amalie Arena here in the heart of the Bolts Nation. Much with every other locally broadcast game this season, you can catch all the action on Fox Sports Sun or on the go with the Fox Sports Go app.