Tampa Bay Lightning Injury Update: J.T. Brown ‘good to go’ against Buffalo
Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown says he’s “good to go” in terms of returning to the Lightning lineup tomorrow night in Buffalo.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been dealing with a number of minor injuries this season. One of those injuries has been Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin. Dotchin has already been forced to miss three games due to an undisclosed injury. Unfortunately, he will not be returning during the Lightning’s current road trip.
On the bright side, it seems as if the Bolts will be getting back one of their players from the injury list as the Lightning prepares to take on their next challenge. According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Lightning forward J.T. Brown says he is “good to go” for tomorrow night against the Buffalo Sabres.
Now, before we all start doing a happy dance, keep something in mind. There is still one little obstacle to clear before officially returning to the Lightning lineup. At this point, the ultimate decision on whether or not Brown will be returning to the lineup tomorrow night is Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper.
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At this point, we have not seen any sort of “official” confirmation from the team regarding Brown’s return to the lineup; however, there are a few things that make this seem like a done deal. The first of which is the words of the man himself. A player knows best when their body is fully recovered and ready to go.
Another gleaming detail here is Brown was on the ice with the team at practice this morning. According to Smith, Brown was paired up with Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn on the third line. It’ll be interesting to see how this line works out if it happens to be the pairing the team goes with on Tuesday night in Buffalo.
The most telling of all the possible clues Brown is ready to make his return is the team has re-assigned Lightning forward Cory Conacher to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Conacher has been lighting things up for the Crunch this season with six goals and seven assists for a total of 13 points. He currently leads the Crunch in overall points.
The Lightning definitely has a lot to prove tomorrow night against the Sabres. The Bolts have lost two in a row (to the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively) and will undoubtedly be looking for a little redemption. In order for the team to achieve their ultimate goal, they are going to have to work together as a team and truly put forth a consistent effort for a whole 60 minutes of hockey.
Next: Jake Dotchin Will Not Return During Road Trip
Getting some of the Lightning’s injured players back in the lineup will definitely be a step in the right direction for the Bolts. The Lightning is coming into another back-to-back series and will need all hands on deck if they want to finish off the road trip right and bring home four points in the final battle.