Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson could be ready to make his return to the Lightning lineup on Saturday night against the Dallas Stars.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has had an entire week off since their last encounter. Thankfully for the Lightning and their fans, the team entered the break on a high note with a stellar 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. As the Bolts prepare to return from their week-long respite, there may be some good news headed their way.
According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, there is a good chance Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson could be ready to make his return to the Lightning lineup on Saturday night against the Dallas Stars. Johnson told Smith he was feeling much better and would know tomorrow if he could play.
Johnson’s return couldn’t possibly come at a better time for the Lightning. As we mentioned previously, the Lightning kicked off their week-long break on a high note with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. The Lightning will need to recapture the momentum tonight if they want to continue to be successful.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Before he was forced to miss two games with an undisclosed injury, Johnson had played in 54 games with the Lightning. In this amount of time, the 26-year-old Spokane native has been able to bring home 16 goals and 17 assists for a total of 33 points.
It has taken Tyler Johnson some time to really find his groove this season. Unfortunately, the same thing can be said about many of his teammates as well. In any case, business has started to pick up for the young forward. In the five games before his injury, Johnson picked up a goal and three assists for a total of four points.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has a lot on the line right now. Struggling for such a long period of time this season has put the Lightning in a pre-playoff do-or-die situation. If the Lightning continues to win games and brings home points, they may still have a shot at the postseason. If not, well…we all know how that particular story ends.
Only time will tell how this, and the many other Lightning storylines will play out. Hopefully, the Lightning will be able to get down to business in Dallas with Tyler Johnson in the lineup. More importantly, the Lightning needs to recapture the magic of the last four games.
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A week off is a double-edged sword. On one side, some of the team’s ailing players have time to recover from their nagging injuries. For others, it is time for them to sit around collecting rust. Here’s hoping the Tampa Bay Lightning end up on the right side of this particular sword.