Tampa Bay Lightning F Jonathan Drouin Not At Practice
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin was not at practice this morning as the Bolts prepare to take on the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night.
The Tampa Bay Lightning found a great deal of success last night in their 4-1 defeat of the New York Islanders in their second meeting of the season. Unfortunately, that system came without the assistance of one of the Lightning’s most talented young forwards, Jonathan Drouin.
As most Lightning fans will remember, Drouin has been relegated to the sidelines ever since November 1st when the Lightning took on the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Just moments into the first period, Drouin would meet the business end of the elbow of Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan.
Drouin would make his way back to the Lightning bench after the elbow to the head, but it wasn’t long until he would make his way down the tunnel and back to the locker room. Unfortunately for the Bolts and their fans, this is where he would remain for the rest of the evening.
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Since then, Drouin has already been forced to miss four games as a result of the injury he sustained on the play. According to Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer Bryan Burns, Jonathan Drouin was on the ice for practice the day before the Bolts took on the Isles, albeit in shorts and a hoodie.
According to Burns, Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper has stated that Drouin has been doing off-ice workouts and skating on his own. Unfortunately, there is currently no timetable for his return to the ice.
Unfortunately, as the Tampa Bay Lightning took the ice this morning for their morning practice, Jonathan Drouin was nowhere to be found. Basically, the hopes of him returning to the ice tomorrow night against the Sharks seems to be quickly fading into darkness.
While the Tampa Bay Lightning have not be what one would call forthcoming as to the nature and/or extent of the injury Drouin sustained at the hands of Calvin de Haan, some Lightning fans are being to speculate Drouin is dealing with something much more serious. Hopefully, Drouin is not dealing with something as serious as a concussion.
Now, before anyone starts to panic, we are not saying this is what is wrong with Jonathan Drouin right now. As we mentioned before, the Lightning have not been forthcoming with Drouin’s injury, so there are a limited amount of people who actually know what is going on.
While there is a lot that could change in between now and when the Lightning take the ice tomorrow night against the Sharks, at this point, we would not hold out breath waiting to see if Drouin joins the team on the ice.
Next: Lightning Power Play Topple New York Islanders
The Tampa Bay Lightning will make their way back into the Amalie Arena for their final game before they head out on a five-game road trip. If the Lightning can manage to continue to play the way they did on Thursday night, the San Jose Sharks are going to be in for one heck of a challenge.