Ryan Callahan will not travel with Lightning on road trip
Tampa Bay Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan will not join the Bolts on their two-game road trip after suffering an Upper-Body Injury sustained against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Tampa Bay Lightning received some good news late Sunday night. Following their tremendous rebound victory over the Edmonton Oilers, the Lightning received news they had clinched their spot in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Fast forward two nights later and the Lightning would receive some rather bad news.
On Tuesday night during the first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan was involved in an altercation with Maple Leafs forward Josh Leivo. As soon as the altercation had come to a close, it was abundantly clear there was something very wrong.
Ryan Callahan immediately skated off the ice holding his shoulder. Instead of making a stop at the Lightning bench, Cally went straight down the tunnel and headed to the Lightning locker room. Callahan would not return in the first period and would not be with the team when they made their way to the ice for the second period.
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It wasn’t until around the halfway point in the period until the news broke Callahan would not be returning to the game after suffering an Upper-Body Injury.
At this point, there was no official word as to whether or not Cally would be forced to miss any serious time due to injury, but the fact he has already suffered a shoulder injury did not bode well for the Lightning veteran.
Today, Lightning fans received a mixed bag of news in regards to Ryan Callahan and the status of his injury. According to Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Reporter Caley Chelios, Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper was encouraged Callahan was at the rink today, but he would not be making the road trip with the Lightning.
Cooper says Callahan is still in need of further evaluation. Of course, this could go either way. There is always the chance Cally dodged a bullet and is able to return to action following the road trip. At the same time, there is the chance something more serious could be at play here and Callahan may be forced to miss time.
The Lightning is at an interesting place in the season. The Bolts have already claimed their spot in the postseason, but this doesn’t mean the work is over. In the remaining nine games in the regular season, the Lightning will be battling for position. Being down a veteran player heading into this point is definitely not an advantage for the Bolts.
Next: Ryan Callahan Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury
The Lightning still has a lot of work to be done in between now and the end of the regular season. Whether or not Ryan Callahan will be a part of the team getting said work done remains to be seen. Here’s hoping Cally hasn’t suffered any sort of serious injury and will be able to rejoin the team when they return on March 26.