Just three days ago, we published a piece detailing five injured Lightning players. Since then, four more starters have joined the list. Here is a brief recap of when each player was injured.
The Lightning now have 35.7 million dollars worth of players benched for injuries, accounting just under half of the NHL salary cap (73 million).
Let’s approach the injuries in chronological order. For tonight’s news, skip down to “No official statement.”
Steven Stamkos
Date of injury: Nov. 15, 2016
Type of injury: Lateral meniscus tear
What happened: Stamkos got injured in the first period after fighting for the loose puck. He limped off the ice and didn’t return.
Status: Long-term injury reserve. Tweeting at former teammates.
Projected return: mid-March
Ryan Callahan
Date of Injury: Nov. 29, 2016
Type of injury: Lower-body injury
What happened: Callahan had a hip injury that required surgical repair over the summer. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Callahan re-aggravated his hip injury.
Status: Technically listed as day-to-day, but has not practiced with the team in a few weeks. No updates have been provided about his possible return date.
Nikita Kucherov
Date of injury: Dec. 13, 2016
Type of injury: Lower-body injury
What happened: Kucherov left practice early on December 13. He joined the team on their road trip out West and took part in the optional morning skate the following day, but he didn’t play that night and hasn’t played since.
Status: He practiced in a gray jersey yesterday, but did not take part in contact drills.
Ondrej Palat
Date of injury: Dec. 14, 2016
Type of injury: Undisclosed
What happened: After playing about nine minutes of the game Dec. 14, Palat left the game and never returned.
Status: He practiced with the team in a regular jersey yesterday.
Cedric Paquette
Date of injury: Dec. 14, 2016
Type of injury: Lower-body injury
What happened: After playing about nine minutes of the game Dec. 14, Palat left the game and never returned.
Status: He joined the team for pregame rushes yesterday, but was scratched as a game time decision. He was scratched again today.
Ben Bishop
Date of injury: Dec. 20, 2016
Type of injury: Lower-body injury
What happened: Ben Bishop blocked what appeared to be a harmless shot, but left Tuesday’s game in the first period and did not return.
Status: He was evaluated Wednesday and the team announced he’s out for three to four weeks.
No Official Statement
The Lightning have made no official statements about the remaining players on this list, but all have missed playing time.
Vladislav Namestnikov
Last game played: Dec. 20, 2016
What happened: No idea. Your guess is as good as mine, but he missed morning skate yesterday and was scratched for that game as well as tonight’s game.
Braydon Coburn
Last game played: Dec. 23, 2016
What happened: Coburn took a high hit from Capitals forward Tom Wilson in the second period, finished that shift, and did not return to the game.
@TomGulittiNHL @tanyarezak He took a hit up high from Wilson in front of the TB net
— Erik Erlendsson (@Erik_Erlendsson) December 24, 2016
Watched hit @Erik_Erlendsson mentioned by Wilson on Coburn at 7:25 in front of TB net. Coburn finished shift with no issue, but left after.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) December 24, 2016
Jonathan Drouin
Last game played: Dec. 23, 2016
What happened: Drouin got tangled up with Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. He left briefly and returned to the game, before finally leaving the game in the second period.
Oshie basically pushed Drouin off him and down when he was trying to back check in neutral zone. Drouin exited to locker room after that.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) December 24, 2016
After the game, Coach Jon Cooper offered no formal update on Coburn or Drouin, but stated that both players were being evaluated.
Cooper said both Drouin and Coburn are being evaluated. “It’s tough. It’s been the tale of our December is guys getting hurt.” #Bolts
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) December 24, 2016
Other Concerns
Victor Hedman left briefly in the second period, but returned for the third period. It’s unclear if there will be any long-term ramifications for him, but hopefully he was simply banged up on the play.
In other bad news, before Ovechkin scored, Hedman came off the ice and appeared to be favoring his right arm/shoulder. #Bolts
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) December 24, 2016
Andrei Vasilevskiy was up-ended in his own net before being pulled in favor of Kristers Gudlevskis. Hopefully this was simply a precautionary measure against the onslaught of injuries.
Vasilevskiy gets upended behind the net by Marcus Johansson, and the #Bolts will get a power play at 6:25 of the 3rd period. #TBLvsWSH
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) December 24, 2016
No player in the system is safe as Tampa Bay Lightning prospect and forward for Team Canada’s U20 World Junior Championship team Mitchell Stephens dealt with his own injury scare in the Canada-Switzerland pretournament game this evening.
Stephens dives to block a shot, leaves ice hurt. Being tended to on the bench.
— Bolt Prospects (@BoltProspects) December 24, 2016
Closing Thoughts
This has to be some kind of record. Lightning players are falling left and right, requiring seven different players to be recalled over the last 11 days. The Bolts have had two back-to-back deep playoff runs, sent the most players to the World Cup of Hockey, and continue to have mandatory morning skates before most games. Those issues, combined with the NHL’s condensed schedule, may be contributing factors to this recent rash of injuries.
The winter break could not be coming at a better time for this team. They need days off to heal if they want to have any chance at chasing Lord Stanley’s Cup this summer.
