Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan and defenseman Braydon Coburn may miss Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks with minor injuries.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has never been a stranger to injuries. In fact, there have been points in time where injuries have dictated the direction of their season as a whole. As the Lightning’s 25th Anniversary Season forges on, the Bolts have been pretty lucky when it comes to injuries. Well…until now.
On Wednesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning finished off their road trip with a visit to the TD Garden where they would take on the Boston Bruins in the first of four meetings this season. As almost any Lightning fan knows, there is no love lost between these two teams and most encounters get rather physical.
Well, it seems as if two Lightning players, in particular, came out of Wednesday night’s game a little worse for wear. If things take a turn for the worse, even slightly, Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper could be forced to make some difficult choices as the team prepares to take on the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.
According to Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer Bryan Burns, forward Ryan Callahan and defenseman Braydon Coburn missed the team’s practice on Friday morning. Given the way the Lightning has been playing as of late, missing another two players from the lineup could cause some shakeup in the lines.
Coach Cooper did admit to both Callahan and Coburn being banged up at the moment, but he did not give any information regarding the severity of the aforementioned issues nor whether or not either of them will be forced to miss Saturday night’s game against the Sharks. Judging by his choice of words, it seems as if at least one of the two will be sitting the sidelines on Saturday.
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“There’s definitely some maintenance issues going on here,” Cooper said. “Hopefully it’s not long term, but it may require a couple of call-ups. So, we’ll have to see.”
If Braydon Coburn is the one who is forced to miss the Lightning’s battle with the Sharks, one would hope to see Lightning defenseman Slater Koekkoek get another opportunity to take the ice with the team. Koekkoek has been performing rather well this season and has sparked a controversy among fans as to why he hasn’t been getting the amount of playing time they feel he deserves.
In the event it’s Ryan Callahan who is forced to miss Saturday night’s encounter with the Sharks, the Lightning could be looking to make the call to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, and employ the services of forward Cory Conacher.
Conacher currently leads the Crunch in both goals and overall points. Given his success so far this season, Conacher would be the obvious choice for the Bolts if a call-up is needed.
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As the Tampa Bay Lightning get closer to game time, the bigger picture will undoubtedly become much clearer and fans will have a much better idea of what they will be seeing with the Bolts take the ice on Saturday night. Here’s hoping the injuries do not persist this season and the Bolts are able to push forward with a predominantly healthy team.