Tampa Bay Lightning Injury Update: Namestnikov, Johnson, And Paquette Are Day-To-Day
Tampa Bay Lightning forwards Vladislav Namestnikov, Tyler Johnson, and Cedric Paquette have all been listed as Day-to-Day with Lower-Body Injuries.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and their fans had a rather bittersweet moment on Thursday night at the Amalie Arena. While everyone was elated at the fact the Lightning had brought home a much-needed two points against the Number One team in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Wild, the experience was severely tarnished when it came at the cost of not one, not two, but three Lightning centers.
It wasn’t until the second period of play when things started to take a turn for the worse for the Bolts. First, it was Lightning forward Vladislav Namestnikov who would have his leg taken out from under him by Wild forward Zach Parise. Vladdy looked to be in a lot of pain and took quite a while to make it to his feet.
Just moments later, the Lightning would lose their second player of the night. This time, it would be Tyler Johnson who would fall victim to the Wild. Johnson played the puck along the boards in the Lightning defensive zone just before he would be nailed into the boards with a direct knee-on-knee hit from Wild forward Nino Niederreiter. Much to the chagrin of Lightning fans, there was no call on the blatant play.
Tampa Bay Lightning
It wasn’t until late in the third period when the Lightning would lose their third player of the night. The lucky winner this time around was Lightning forward Cedric Paquette. After having his stick blatantly slashed out of his hand by Wild alternate captain Ryan Suter, of which there was – once again – no call, Paquette did the only thing he could. He made every attempt to get back into the mix and break up the play.
Paquette had his hands on Niederreiter when Niederreiter was face palmed by Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin. Paquette proceeded to continue with his takedown of Niederreiter when his left leg got caught underneath his body, resulting in one nasty looking fall. Needless to say, Paquette looked like he was in a lot of pain after pushing Niederreiter off of his ailing body.
This tragic tale brings us to where we are now. The Tampa Bay Lightning are preparing to face off with yet another Divisional opponent in the Florida Panthers, and the Lightning seems to be down three centers. The question on top of everyone’s mind is what the status of these three players is.
Well, this could be good news or bad news, depending on how you look at it. According to Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer Bryan Burns, the Lightning has announced Vladislav Namestnikov, Tyler Johnson, and Cedric Paquette has all been listed as Day-to-Day with Lower Body Injuries.
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Now, here’s the good news. More than likely, their Day-to-Day status could be used as an indicator none of the aforementioned players are in need of any sort of season-ending surgery. It also means with a little TLC (and no, not the “Waterfalls” type), these guys could be ready to take the ice again any time now.
At the same time, this could be the Lightning’s way of calming things over while they look deeper into each individual situation and ascertain if any further action is needed. The telling moment will come tomorrow afternoon when fans find out whether any of the three injured players will be available against the Panthers.
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No matter how the situation plays out tomorrow afternoon, we hope the injuries to Vladdy, Johnny, and Ceddy are not too severe and they are able to return to the ice to help the Lightning continue their push towards the postseason. It would be a shame for them to miss out on the big moment after all their hard work.