Cole Koepke’s stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning only lasted five days this time as the 25-year-old forward was reassigned to the Syracuse Crunch on Monday. Koepke appeared in one game, the Lightning’s 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals. He only appeared for 5:59 of ice time, but did register two shots on goal. With the Lightning going with an 11/7 line-up over the last two games, Koepke found himself in the press box.
The Crunch will be happy to have one of their top scorers back in the line-up as they fight for a playoff spot. As for the Lightning, it’s a good sign that Tanner Jeannot might be ready to return to action. The rugged forward has been with the team on their current road trip, but hasn’t played yet after suffering an undisclosed injury against the Bruins back on February 13.
Even if Jeannot is ready to go, Coach Cooper might wait until the Lightning are back home to deploy Jeannot considering the success the team has had with the extra defenseman. They have won the first two games of this three-game trip and shown a new dedication to defense that had been lacking during their three-game losing streak.
As for the Crunch, they get Koepke, who has 13 goals for them this season, back on the heels of Alex Barré-Boulet joining the team. They can use the added offense as they have been held to just two goals in each of their last four games. Thanks to some strong goaltending, they have won two of those games, but they need to get that offense cooking if they want to catch the Cleveland Monsters at the top of North Division standings.
Other Hockey News
Two years after trade, Hagel providing star power for the Lightning [Tampa Bay Times]
Hagel is good at hockey.
How should the Bolts approach the deadline? [Bolts by the Bay]
Not going to lie, if they can trade Conor Sheary, put JBB in the Hall of Fame already (and yes, I realize he signed him in the first place).
Question Cam – Late Night Snacks [Tampa Bay Lightning]
“I don’t eat after 6.” Vasilevskiy is a weird dude. Even for a goaltender.
Valeri Nichushkin resumes practicing with the Avalanche [ESPN]
The Avalanche forward was cleared to return to the team after receiving care from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program. He was practicing with his Colorado teammates on Monday, but it might be a little while until he returns to game action.
NHL Three Stars [NHL.com]
Kirill Kaprizov (12 points), Mitch Marner (10 points), and Igor Shesterkin (3 wins) were your three stars of last week.
