The Tampa Bay Lightning reassigned Steven Santini the Syracuse Crunch on Friday, a move that indicates Erik Cernak is ready to return to the line-up. The right-shot defenseman missed the Lightning’s win against Detroit on Thursday, but was listed as day-to-day by Coach Jon Cooper. It looks like he’s been upgraded as assistant coach Rob Zettler confirmed that Cernak is “good to go”.
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Declan Carlile missed the last few minutes of the Red Wings game, and didn’t practice on Friday, but will be reevaluated on Saturday. Cernak isn’t the only player who might return against Carolina. Nick Paul took a regular shift with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Corey Perry at practice and has the same day-to-day designation as Cernak. According to Benjamin Pierce, the team is going to see how he feels tomorrow and make a decision from there.
[Note: Santini was recalled Saturday morning, so it’s possible Carlile isn’t quite ready
It’s a good time for the Lightning to get healthy as they begin the final stretch of the regular season. After the Carolina game, they have two days off, the last multi-day break for them this season. Starting on Tuesday, they play every other night (or back-to-back) the rest of the way. They’re going to need every healthy player they can get. Once Paul and Cernak are back, their only injured players will be Dominic James and Max Crozier, who are both likely out for the rest of the regular season.
Other Hockey News
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Vasilevsky becomes second NHL goalie to register nine straight 30-win seasons [Daily FaceOff]
He is the best goaltender of his era, now he’s starting to enter the conversation with the all-time greats. With his victory over Detroit, the Lightning netminder recorded his 30th win of the season. It’s the ninth season in a row he’s had at least 30 wins and only Martin Brodeur has a longer streak with 12.
Syracuse Crunch drop second in a row with 4-1 loss to Lehigh Valley [Syracuse Crunch]
Mitchell Chaffee scored their lone goal while Ryan Fanti stopped 16-of-19. With his assist, Matthew Peca registered his first point for the Crunch since April 11, 2018 when he scored against Rochester.
Auston Matthews done for the season [Pension Plan Puppets]
The Leafs captain suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear and a quad contusion after his knee-to-knee collision with Radko Gudas. Matthews has been ruled out for the rest of Toronto’s season. Bad news for the playoffs, good news if they want to regain their first-round pick (which they traded to Boston but is top-five protected).
Radko Gudas suspended five games [Department of Player Safety]
The Anaheim Ducks defenseman will miss the next five games as a result of his hit on Auston Matthews. While some, okay a lot, of folks think it might not have been long enough, it will be a big loss for the Ducks as they try and make the playoffs.
Thoughts on the Detroit win and a look ahead to Carolina [Backchecking the Bolts]
Justin and Jason talk about what they liked about the Detroit game, what to expect from the Carolina match-up, and Justin struggles through another trivia question.
