It seemed like things were moving in the right direction in regards to the injury situation for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jakob Pelletier returned to Syracuse on Sunday after his one-game replacement of Brandon Hagel. Boris Katchouk followed on Monday, an indication that one of their forwards is ready to come back as well. Prior to their game against the New Jersey Devils, the team made a move that would indicate that the busiest place in the building is still the trainers’ room.
The team announced that they had recalled Steven Santini and Declan Carlile, both defenseman, from Syracuse. The Crunch have a game in Laval on Wednesday, so yanking two of their top defenders from the roster is an interesting move. It might also indicate that the move is more precautionary than long-term, and the players can be assigned back to Syracuse right after the Lightning game tonight.
Ryan McDonagh is definitely out. He hasn’t been seen on the ice since blocking a shot against Washington on November 8th. Victor Hedman has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury, but he was on the ice at practice yesterday. Erik Cernak didn’t practice on Monday, but was on the ice for Tuesday’s optional morning skate. PuckPedia is also reporting that Max Crozier is back on the injured reserve list (which would clear a space needed for one of the recalls).
Both of the recalls have been big parts of the Crunch’s defense this season. Santini, the team’s captain, has four assists in his thirteen games while Carlile is leading the blueline’s offensive efforts with two goals and eight assists. Carlile is a left-shot defenseman while Santini is a right-shot, so the Lightning will have some versatility should they be needed in tonight’s contest.
Neither will be making their Lightning debuts either. Carlile has skated in four games with the Lightning over his career, recording one goal. Santini, who does have 124 career NHL games under his belt (mostly with the Devils), appeared in one game with the Lightning last season, blocking two shots and recording a hit in 11:37 of ice time.
It’s been a tough stretch for the Lightning in regards to injuries, and they will just have to keep wading through it. If the team provides any more information, the story will be updated.