It appears that the return of Conor Sheary might be right around the corner. On Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning reassigned Cole Koepke to the Syracuse Crunch, a move that, while not necessary, allows Koepke to get some playing time in the AHL as opposed to riding the bench in the NHL. We talked about this last week, and while it would seemingly make more sense to send Austin Watson down, this move was always going to be the most likely solution to the problem of too many forwards.
Koepke’s second stint with the Lightning was eight games long and he finished with 2 assists while averaging 6:48 of ice time. In Syracuse he’s likely to find some time on the second or third line and help boost their scoring a little bit, something that faltered a bit over the weekend.
Sheary accompanied the Lightning on this West Coast swing and Coach Cooper mentioned that he would likely be back in the line-up at some point on the road trip, and it looks like that could possibly be today.
More News
Nikita Kucherov named top star of the week [NHL.com]
Kucherov’s 4 goals and 3 assists propelled him to the first star while Tomas Hertl and Sam Reinhart took the second and third star respectively. Congrats to everyone!
The New York restaurant where Russian stars find a taste of home [The Athletic]
Many years ago, The Wife and I took a trip to New York and found ourselves in a Russian bar near our hotel. We got loose on flavored vodkas while well-dressed folks sang Russian songs. It was a blast. I don’t think it was Mari Vanna, but who knows. Joe Smith talks to some of the Russians in the league, including the Lightning’s Big Three, about the restaurant that makes them feel at home.
Centennial Stories: Seven to Seventy-Seven [Boston Bruins]
The oral history of Ray Bourque surprising Uncle Phil by changing his number on the night the Bruins honored Esposito. It’s not often Espo is left speechless, but that night was one of them.
Steve Carlson discusses cancer fight, ‘Slap Shot‘ [NHL.com]
From cancer to a wicked bike wreck, it’s been a rough couple of years for the man who played Steve Hanson in the iconic movie.
Lawmakers to potentially vote on plan that would see Capitals and Wizards to Northern Virginia [RMNB]
When it a move for one state to another not a potential relocation? When the team plays in the nation’s capital. With an aging building, talk has begun about possibly renovating Capital One Arena or possibly moving the Caps to a new arena that would be located in Virginia. For the record, their first arena was in Landover, Maryland. Not sure there has ever been a team that has played in two states and a district that didn’t change their name.
David Perron suspended for six games [Department of Player Safety]
It wasn’t a great Zoom call for Perron as the league suspended him for six games after he nailed Artem Zub in the face with a crosscheck. It was a busy day for DoPS as they also handed Eric Gudbranson a one-game suspension.
