Late Wednesday evening the Lightning announced that they have recalled Brett Connolly in advance of Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. This announcement comes on the heels of the news that captain Martin St. Louis was being listed as day to day with a lower body injury.
Jon Cooper talked to the media about the injury this afternoon after practice:
St. Louis, who took a shot to the foot in Tuesday’s game against Los Angeles, told Tampa Bay Times reporter earlier today “There’s always a chance when you’re day to day. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.” It appears, however, that the Lightning will indeed rest the captain for at least one game, perhaps as a precautionary measure.
Thinking back to Lecavalier shot off foot last year, tried to play through it, got worse eventually ended up fractured. Does that factor in?
— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) October 16, 2013
It was noted by many observers that it was a numbers game that kept Connolly out of the opening day lineup for the Lightning. There was little question that his assignement to the AHL Syracuse Crunch came not because he particularly needed any seasoning but because there were not enough spots for all the players who deserved them. Connolly was clearly the first on the list for a call up in large part because of that strong preseason performance.
Connolly, after the September 20 preseason game against the St. Louis Blues, noted that this was a “statement year” for him.
It is not known at this time where Connolly will fit in the lineup. From the team:
Connolly, 21, has skated in three games with the Crunch this season, collecting one assist. He ranked tied for first on the Lightning during the preseason with four goals in five games. The Campbell River, British Columbia native also ranked tied for second for points with four and his plus-4 rating ranked tied for fourth on the Lightning during the preseason.
During the 2012-13 season, Connolly appeared in five games with the Bolts, scoring one goal. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound forward has skated in 73 career NHL games with the Lightning, recording five goals and 16 points with 30 penalty minutes. Two of Connolly’s five career goals have been game-winners. He scored his first career NHL goal on November 1, 2011 at Carolina and also made his NHL debut against the Hurricanes on October 7, 2011.
