The Tampa Bay Lightning picked up a win in their last outing, downing the Washington Capitals, 3-2, but it has proven to be a costly one as at least two of their key players suffered injuries that have reportedly landed them on injured reserve. Ryan McDonagh, who blocked a shot at the end of the first period, and Dominic James, who took a puck to the upper cheek area, will be out of action for at least one game.

After practice Coach Jon Cooper let reporters know that McDonagh would be “out for a few games” and indicated that it would be the same for Dominic James and Nick Paul. By placing McDonagh and James on injured reserve they won’t be eligible to come back for seven days after their last game. That means they’ll be out for the New York and Florida games at the very least. The benefit of the move is that it opens up two roster spots for call-ups from Syracuse.

That might be key because those three aren’t the only players dealing with injuries. Victor Hedman and missed practice this week and Pontus Holmberg is considered “day-to-day” by Coach Cooper. That meant the lines at practice were a bit jumbled.

#GoBolts  lines and pairings today:

Guentzel-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Goncalves
Girgensons-Gourde-Bjorkstrand
Douglas-Finley-Paul

Moser-Crozier
D’Astous-Cernak
Lilleberg-Raddysh

Vasilevskiy
Johansson
Konin

— Benjamin Pierce (@boltsben.bsky.social) November 11, 2025 at 11:09 AM

For those that might not be aware, “Konin” refers to the Lightning’s emergency back-up goalie, Kyle Konin.

Along with whoever the Lightning recall, the injuries put off a looming roster decision. Jack Finley or Curtis Douglas will likely get at least one more game to prove that they should stay on the NHL roster. Once Nick Paul is healthy enough to come off of Long-Term Injured Reserve a player is going to have to get sent down. Of course, if McDonagh or James are out for more than a couple of games, then plans can change.

Replacing McDonagh could be tough for the Lightning. He and Erik Cernak are on the ice more than any other pairing for the Lightning and usually match up against the top lines. While they haven’t been their usual lock-down selves (their 3.32 GA/60 is the highest on the team) their underlying numbers are pretty solid (their 2.06 xGA/60 is only bested by the Emil Lilleberg/Charle-Edouard D’Astous duo).

Without him in the line-up, J.J. Moser or Lilleberg will flip back to their natural side, and if Hedman also misses the game, they both probably will. Max Crozier, who himself might not be 100% healthy, would jump back into the rotation on the right side. Keeping eight defensemen on the roster is starting to look like a pretty good move for the Lightning.

James has provided a nice spark for the Lightning since his call-up. His energy and drive have meshed well on a line with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Gage Goncalves, and their play was starting to result in points. It also allowed Coach Cooper to keep Zemgus Girgensons, Yanni Gourde, and Pontus Holmberg together on a line that has developed into an absolute terror to play against. The Bolts are carrying a 57.1% edge in expected goals when they’re on the ice.

It’s going to be an all-hands on deck effort against the Rangers, who have been the best road team in the league this season. Then they’ll have two days to figure things out before heading down to Sunrise to take on the Panthers in what should be an extremely physical match. That will kick off a busy week where Tampa Bay plays five times in eight games.