The Lightning announced that rookie defenseman Andrej Sustr has been recalled from the Syracuse Crunch. Presumably this is to fill in for the Mike Kostka, who was injured in Tuesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, on a hit for which Habs defenseman Douglas Murray has been suspended three games. Sustr himself only recently returned to the Syracuse lineup after being out with an injury since January, shortly after his reassignment there.
Sustr, you’ll remember, played in 38 games with the Lightning earlier this season after making the team out of training camp. From the Lightning’s announcement:
Sustr, 23, has skated in 12 games with the Crunch this season, recording a goal and four points to go along with two penalty minutes. He has also appeared in 38 games with the Lightning this season, collecting seven assists and 12 penalty minutes. He recorded his first career NHL point (assist) against the Los Angeles Kings on October 15, 2013. The 6-foot-8, 216-pound defenseman tallied a career-best two assists on November 16 at Phoenix. Sustr has played in 40 career NHL games, all with Tampa Bay over the past two seasons.
While the Lightning still have Keith Aulie as an emergency option on defense–not to mention Mark Barberio, who has been a frequent scratch of late–it isn’t possible to have too much depth on defense. However, one suspects this indicates that Coach Cooper would prefer some other choices available to him.
