Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vladislav Namestnikov is back out of the lineup once again after aggravating his Lower-Body Injury last night against the New York Rangers.
Just when the Tampa Bay Lightning felt as if they could take a breath and the majority of the injuries which had spent a majority of the season plaguing the team had gone to pasture, the injury bug reared its ugly head once again and stole three major components to the Lightning’s offensive core.
On Mar. 9, the Tampa Bay Lightning was fighting a fierce battle against the Minnesota Wild. Over the course of the 60-minute encounter, the Lightning lost forwards Vladislav Namestnikov, Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette. All three players are from the center position; all three players left the game with left leg injuries.
The following day, the Lightning announced all three players were listed as Day-To-Day with Lower-Body Injuries. Of course, anyone who watched the game knows they were all three varying leg injuries. On the bright side, being listed as Day-To-Day more than likely means none of them would require surgery on their injuries.
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All three of these players would be forced to sit the bench on Mar. 11 as the Tampa Bay Lightning battled their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers. Even if one of them may have been good to go, the better decision was to let them sit for at least one game and have a chance to fully recover from their injuries.
Things would turn out to be a little different when the Lightning took on the New York Rangers last night at Madison Square Garden. It was announced prior to game time Vladislav Namestnikov would be mixing back into the lineup. Needless to say, Lightning fans were both happy and concerned at the same time.
Namestnikov stayed in the game for around a period and a half to two periods before he mysteriously disappeared from the Lightning bench. In this amount of time, Namestnikov had taken a mere 9:27 of ice time. Fans would soon come to find out Namestnikov had re-aggravated his injury and would not be returning.
Tonight, the Tampa Bay Lighting has a new challenge in front of them. The Bolts have made their way north to face the Ottawa Senators in yet another must-win situation. As has been the case for the last two months, when you face a Divisional opponent, a victory means so much more.
Unfortunately, as the Lightning prepare to finish off their back-to-back series at the Canadian Tire Centre, they will be forced to take the ice without the assistance of the player they once thought to be fully recovered. According to Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer Bryan Burns, Vladislav Namestnikov, in addition to Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette, will be out of the lineup tonight against the Senators.
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This is both good and bad news for the Lightning. The good news here is this will give these players a chance to heal their bodies and truly be prepared when the time comes for them to return to the ice. At this point in the season, a team needs their players to be at their very best, and if they cannot achieve this, it’s better they sit.
At the same time, Namestnikov (as well as Johnson and Paquette) are not the kind of players you want sitting the bench when a team like the Lightning is fighting so hard and finding so much success in their quest to make their way into the playoff picture.
When all is said and done, the health of a player(s) is more important than anything. Ideally, if the three skilled forwards need more time for their bodies to heal, who are we to deny them of this time? The Lightning is certainly faced with a difficult challenge tonight, but it’s nothing the team hasn’t faced before.
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The Lightning has some of the best depth in the National Hockey League, and if there is any team who is in a position to overcome the odds and emerge victoriously, this team is the Tampa Bay Lightning.