The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-assigned forward Matthew Peca to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
The revolving door of players making their way to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s main roster continues to spin. As the team continues to deal with numerous injuries to key players in the Lightning’s lineup, the need for fresh (and healthy) talent has become increasingly more imperative.
The morning after the Lightning’s painful 3-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Lightning have elected to re-assign forward Matthew Peca to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Peca was originally called up by the Lightning on December 28th as the Bolts took on the Montreal Canadiens.
Unfortunately for the Tampa Bay Lightning, this was the game in which the Lightning would lose yet another valuable offensive asset, Lightning forward Brayden Point.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Unlike some of the players who have come before him this season, Matthew Peca has found success on the Lightning’s main roster this season. In the nine games the 23-year-old Lightning center has played in this season, he has brought home both a goal and an assist for a grand total of two points.
It took a couple of games to get rolling, but as the old saying goes, “the third time’s the charm.” In his third game as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Matthew Peca would earn his first career NHL point with an assist on Alex Killorn’s goal in the second period of the Lightning’s 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Just one game later, as the Tampa Bay Lightning took on the Winnipeg Jets, Peca would finally earn a goal of his own. Ironically enough, it would be the first goal in the second period, much like his assist the game before.
Despite missing many games while on the Lightning’s main roster, Peca is still having an impressive season with the Crunch. In the 29 games he’s played this season with the Crunch, Peca has brought home five goals and 12 assists for a total of 18 points. These numbers place him in eighth place on the team in overall points.
Regrettably for the Tampa Bay Lightning, their struggles with injuries this season don’t seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. While the Lightning have arguably the best depth in the National Hockey League right now, finding consistency and team chemistry is difficult when wrought by chaos.
Next: Round Table: Our Favorite Martin St. Louis Moments
Hopefully, the Lightning can find a way to overcome the tremendous amount of adversity they have in front of them as they embark on their west coast road trip. If not, the Lightning’s season may be over before it ever truly kicked into high gear.