Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ondrej Palat was absent from practice once again after being diagnosed with an undisclosed injury on Saturday.
The Tampa Bay Lightning played one of the most complete games of the season on Saturday night when they took on the Anaheim Ducks at the Amalie Arena in the Sunshine State. Unfortunately, the Bolts were forced to take the ice without the assistance of Lightning forward Ondrej Palat.
Before the game on Saturday, Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper stated Palat had suffered an injury late in the game on Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators and had been listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, therefore missing the evening’s action against the Ducks.
Unfortunately for the Lightning, it doesn’t seem as if much has changed in between then and now. According to Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer Bryan Burns, Ondrej Palat was not at practice with the team this morning.
Tampa Bay Lightning
As always, things could change at any moment, but at least for now, it doesn’t seem very hopeful that Palat will be ready to rejoin the team tomorrow night when they take on the Los Angeles Kings in their second, and final, meeting of the regular season.
While Palat may not be having the same season as his teammate and occasional linemate Nikita Kucherov, he has definitely been an asset to the team.
Ondrej Palat has played in 47 games with the Lightning this season. In that amount of time, he has been able to bring home 10 goals and 15 assists for a total of 25 points.
The Lightning has dealt with an extra ordinate amount of injuries this season, and it has most certainly wreaked havoc on the team’s chemistry. If there is anything the team needs right now, it’s consistency. The Bolts put on a good show on Saturday night, but will they be able to keep momentum on their side?
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It’s undeniable that getting a player like Ondrej Palat back in the lineup would be a huge bonus for the Bolts. At the same time, if there happens to be no chance of this occurring, the Lightning still have a job to do. It will be interesting to see how the team responds after such heart-pounding victory like the one on Saturday.