The Tampa Bay Lightning are returning from their bye week on Saturday night when they visit the Dallas Stars in a game featuring two of the more disappointing teams in the NHL this season.
Before their game they made a roster move on Saturday morning by recalling veteran forward Cory Conacher from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, perhaps an indication that Tyler Johnson might not be ready to return to the lineup just yet.
Johnson missed the Lightning’s last two games before the bye week due to a lower body injury that he suffered on Feb. 7 against the Los Angeles Kings. Johnson is the Lightning’s fourth leading scorer this season with 33 points in 54 games. He had been really starting to pick it up prior to the injury with seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past seven games.
The 27-year-old Conacher has spent most of the season playing for Syracuse where he has 42 points (10 goals, 32 assists) in 41 games.
He has been up and down between Syracuse and the big club this season, appearing in seven games for the Lightning scoring a goal and recording two assists. He has not played in a game for the Lightning since Dec. 23.
The Lightning enter play on Saturday still five points out of a playoff spot, while the Stars currently on a three-game losing streak, are seven points out in the Western Conference.