Jakob Pelletier. Photo courtesy of the Syracuse Crunch via their Facebook page. Used with their permission.
In our preview today, we speculated that the Tampa Bay Lightning might go with an 11/7 line-up if Big Jack Finley isn’t able to suit up today. While that is still a possibility, the Lightning gave themselves another option as they recalled forward Jakob Pelletier from Syracuse prior to their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The free agent signing was recalled earlier this year and made his Lightning debut on November 15. He’s been one of the Crunch’s best players this season, logging 41 points in 35 games in his first season with the Bolts AHL affiliate. His production has not only earned him a recall, he was also selected to play in the AHL All-Star Classic.
While he has been a top-line option for the Crunch, he would be a solid replacement for Finley on a line with Nick Paul and Oliver Bjorkstrand. He is a high-energy forward that is responsible in his own zone and can chip in some offense. He has 11 goals and 18 assists in his 87-game NHL career.
As for Finley, he suffered what Coach Jon Cooper referred to as an “upper-body” injury during a first period fight with Chicago’s Nick Foligno. It’s hard to pinpoint what the injury might have been, but there was a moment where it looked like a punch from Foligno might have landed and pushed Finley’s head into the glass. The 23-year-old has 2 goals and 1 assist in 18 games this year, but was a healthy scratch for almost a month, and didn’t return to a reoccurring role in the line-up until Brayden Point was injured in Philadelphia two weeks ago.