As expected, the Tampa Bay Lightning reassigned goaltender Matt Tomkins to the Syracuse Crunch, but at the same time they announced that they had recalled forward Conor Sheary. Tomkins served as Jonas Johansson’s back-up in the Bolts overtime victory against the Nashville Predators on Friday, but did not see any action.
More importantly, the recall of the veteran Sheary indicates that the Lightning are a little thin at the forward ranks. Nick Paul has been out of the line-up with an undisclosed lower-body injury since November 19th, and Mitchell Chaffee has been sidelined since the Colorado game on November 25th. In Friday’s action, both Nikita Kucherov (undisclosed) and Anthony Cirelli (puck to the face) missed time, but returned to the game.
It is likely that the four forwards are game-time decisions. With the forward ranks depleted, a recall was necessary even if it’s just for precautionary reasons. Following the optional morning skate, Coach Cooper did say that “a whole bunch of guys” were game-time decisions. Paul and Chaffee did take part in the skate.
Sheary, who struggled to make an impact while he was with the Lightning earlier in the season, has been a key part of the Crunch’s offense of late. In 11 games he’s put up 3 goals and 4 assists while generating 38 shots on net. If he can carry that confidence back into the NHL, he could re-establish his role as a versatile winger for the Lightning.
