For nearly all of this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have had to grit their teeth through injuries and bad luck. It looks like they should expect much of the same on Saturday ... and probably going forward.
While Steven Stamkos was out there skating this morning, he admitted to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that he still doesn’t know when he might be back (calling that vigorous bit of exercise “a start”).
That Stamkos news isn’t great, and it’s also not the only downer for a Lightning team that will need to put out a lot of effort against the Washington Capitals tonight.
It turns out that Tyler Johnson, Cedric Paquette and Vladislav Namestnikov won’t be able to play against the Caps, either, and it’s unclear when they’ll be back.
Cooper on injury concerns: "Between player transactions and injuries, to have that many players down the middle go out is numbing.” #Bolts
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) March 18, 2017
So ... yeah, that’s all pretty much bad news. Maybe this will bring Bolts fans at least a moment of serenity?
#tblightning @RealStamkos91 still pushing it a half hour after skate ended. pic.twitter.com/FgC3Ea8gtL
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 18, 2017
The Capitals are getting Andre Burakovsky back on their end, activating him off IR. You have to wonder if the Lightning might be a touch envious of Washington’s relative injury luck.