After appearing as if Steven Stamkos might be ready to make his return to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup this week, it is going to have to wait.
Stamkos did not play in Tampa Bay’s overtime loss to Montreal on Saturday, and will once again be out of the lineup on Sunday when the team takes on the Dallas Stars. Stamkos told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that he will not play in tonight’s game.
The Lightning will only have four games remaining on their schedule after Sunday’s game, including an absolutely massive game in Boston on Tuesday night.
The Bruins are one of the teams the Lightning are trailing in the playoff race and if they are going to have any shot of making up that four point gap in the standings that game is going to be an absolute must win for them.
After that, the Lightning close their schedule with games against Toronto, Montreal and Buffalo.
Stamkos has not played since Nov. 15 as he continues to recover from knee surgery.
While Stamkos is not ready to return, the Lightning could potentially get some help on Sunday as forward Tyler Johnson participated in the morning skate, but his availability for the game is not yet known.