For a moment on Saturday, it seemed like the Tampa Bay Lightning’s injury luck might go from awful to downright disastrous.
There’s a possibility that he’ll have a setback anyway, but at the moment, the Lightning are breathing a sigh of relief after seeing Jonathan Drouin return to the ice after being shaken up by a Brayden Schenn hit.
You can see that check, which made agent Allan Walsh upset, in the video above this post’s headline.
Either way, supplemental discipline seems unlikely.
From @NHLPlayerSafety, Some head contact on Schenn/Drouin hit, but it was full body check + head not main point of contact. Elbow tucked in
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) November 19, 2016
It’s been a black-and-blue game for the Lightning overall, as it seemed like Ryan Callahan was hurt, yet he also came back.
Even with returns, Tampa Bay will likely monitor Drouin, Callahan and others for possible issues. Brayden Point may also be injured and Cedric Paquette was noticeably bothered by a blocked shot, among other concerns.
(Point returned to the game with a cage and a bloodied face.)
So ... yeah, this could still be a costly afternoon contest, but right now file these worries under bullets dodged. Or “just a flesh wound.”
#TBLightning may need to cancel practice tomorrow due to a lack of healthy bodies, it's been a war of attrition today
— Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) November 19, 2016
The Flyers aren’t leaving the game unscathed, either, as Chris VandeVelde won’t return to the contest after suffering an upper-body injury.
Update: Drouin ended up scoring a beautiful 3-0 goal as the Lightning beat the Flyers by that score on Saturday.