Tampa Bay Lightning practice notes Dec. 9

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
December 9, 2016

BRANDON, Fla. – The Lightning hit the ice nearly 25 minutes later than originally scheduled, usually a sign of a team meeting beforehand.

With one win in the past seven games, it’s easy to see why there was also a post-practice meeting.

In between, Tampa Bay once again got back to work dealing with some of the defensive issues that have plagued the team during the unprecedented slide under head coach Jon Cooper.

It was not exactly a full house for practice, although captain Steven Stamkos was spotted near the Lightning locker room area at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon, sliding behind the media utilizing a pair of crutches during Cooper’s media session, heading for treatment from the training staff.

Stamkos suffered a partially torn meniscus in his right knee on Nov. 15 and is expected to miss at least four months.

Ryan Callahan, meanwhile, was not on the ice for the second consecutive day and is doubtful to play on Saturday against Pittsburgh (Fox Sports Sun, 7 p.m.)

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On Wednesday, Callahan was thought to be probable after taking part in a full practice. But he did not take part in the morning skate on Thursday. and missed the game against Vancouver.

Head coach Jon Cooper indicated that the issue is not cleared up to the satisfaction of the training staff, even though Callahan is pushing to return to the lineup.

“I just keep getting updates from the trainers and we are not going to put Callahan in a position where he’s going to be out long term,” Cooper said. “So whether you call it a set back, I don’t know what the term is, but we are just not comfortable with him playing. And he probably wants to play more and we are holding him back a little bit, but we have to think long term here and so if we keep him out a little bit longer, that’s what we need to do.”

There was also some line shuffling taking place, something that has been commonplace during the recent stretch of games, particularly with Tampa Bay scoring two goals in the past three games.

The expected lines for Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh:

Ondrej Palat-Tyler Johnson-Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn-Brayden Point-Joel Vermin
Brian Boyle-Valtteri Filppula-Jonathan Drouin
Vladislav Namestnikov-Cedric Paquette-J.T. Brown

Jon Cooper meets the media following practice on Dec. 9

Jon Cooper following practice on Dec. 9 from Erik Erlendsson on Vimeo.

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