Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette could potentially return to the Lightning lineup tonight against the St. Louis Blues.
Injuries are no stranger to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Heck, in the 2016-17 season there were points in time where the team seemed to lose more players than they got back on the ice in any given night. Needless to say, the Lightning were definitely looking to kick off the 2017-18 season on a different foot.
Unfortunately, injuries are a part of the game and are sometimes unavoidable. Despite their best efforts, the Lightning has already begun to feel the sting of the injury bug. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette was forced to miss the team’s 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins with a Lower-Body Injury.
There is some good news on the horizon for Bolts fans, though. According to Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer Bryan Burns, Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper has said there is a chance Paquette could rejoin his teammates on the ice tonight at they take on the St. Louis Blues in the last game of their season-opening home stand.
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As some Lightning fans may know by now, the 24-year-old center was on the ice for the team’s morning skate in a regular jersey, so this is definitely a good sign of his potential return. If the team wants to remain successful this season, they are going to need their team healthy.
Paquette has already registered an assist this season. This assist came in the final minutes of Monday night’s 4-3 victory over captain Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on a goal by one of the newest members of the Tampa Bay Lightning family, winger Chris Kunitz.
While Paquette may not be one of those powerhouse goal-scoring forward like Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, he definitely has a distinctive place on the ice. Paquette is what some would refer to as a pest to his opponents. His is always ready to break up a play and wrestle possession away from his opponents. Also, he is one of the first people to step up when someone steps out of line with one of his teammates.
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It will be interesting to see how things shake out tonight. As one could easily imagine, Cedric Paquette’s return will more than likely be one of Cooper’s game-time decisions. Hopefully, the hockey gods will smile on the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ceddy will be added back into the lineup against the Blues tonight.