The Tampa Bay Lightning were back on the ice for practice on Monday following their disappointing loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. Well, most of the Lightning were. Boris Katchouk wasn’t there as the team re-assigned him to the Syracuse Crunch. While that’s an unfortunate hit to the 27-year-old’s bank account (his AHL salary is $250,000 compared to his $775,000 NHL salary) it is a good sign that the Lightning are starting to get healthy.
Katchouk appeared in three games during his recall, tasting NHL action for the first time since the 2023-24 season when he was with Ottawa. Overall, it was a pretty solid stint. Coach Jon Cooper referred to him as the team’s best player in the loss to the New York Rangers, and while he didn’t record a point during his 36 minutes of action, the Lightning were the better team when he was on the ice, at least statistically.
At 5v5 play Tampa Bay had a 60.38% edge in shot attempts, 71.43% edge in scoring attempts, and a mind-boggling 92.31% edge in high-danger chances (12-1) when Bo was skating around terrorizing opponents. Those are pretty impressive numbers for the center, who also threw five hits during his brief tenure. Like just about everyone else that drifted near the face-off dot, he struggled, winning just 35.29% of his draws (6-for-17). That was really the only blemish on his record.
The good news is that his loan back to Syracuse likely means that at least one of Dominic James, Nick Paul, or Anthony Cirelli are ready to return to action against New Jersey tomorrow. According to Erik Erlendsson, all three (and Victor Hedman) were on the ice at practice, with James wearing a face shield.
#GoBolts on the ice for practice this morning, Dominic James is practicing wearing a face shield, Nick Paul also practicing along with Hedman and Cirelli. Scott Sabourin is still with the team while Boris Katchouk was reassigned to Syracuse #TBLightning
— Lightning Insider (@erikerlendsson.bsky.social) November 17, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Syracuse will be happy to see Katchouk back as they were without his and Jakob Pelletier’s services over the weekend. Pelletier was re-assigned on Sunday, prior to the game against Vancouver, as Brandon Hagel returned to action.
While seeing all of the players return to practice is a good sign, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are all ready to return to game action. The Lightning tend to be cautious with their injured players, so final decisions on rosters and game line-ups may have to wait until warm-ups on Tuesday.