The Tampa Bay Lightning will once again be without defenseman Erik Cernak, who was announced as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury short before puck-drop, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. He has missed Tampa Bay’s last three games since suffering an undisclosed injury on January 16th. Cernak left that game after just one shift but didn’t seem to suffer a clear injury.
Cernak has returned to the Lightning’s top four this season. The 27-year-old has scored 10 assists and averaged 18:15 in ice time through 41 games, putting him on pace to narrowly pass his career-high of 18 points set during the shortened 2020-21 campaign. He has been replaced in the lineup by rookie Maxwell Crozier, who’s still searching for his first point of the season after three NHL games. Crozier has also scored nine points in 22 AHL games this year. Cernak’s absence will likely return Crozier to the team’s second pair next to Ryan McDonagh, while Darren Raddysh’s role on the top pair will go unchallenged for at least one more game.
Tampa Bay visits Chicago on Friday, and Detroit on Saturday. Cernak will be at risk of missing both outings.
More from the Atlantic:
- Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz is ahead of schedule in his recovery from his knee injury, relays David Alter of The Hockey News. He has missed nearly six weeks due to the injury but head coach Craig Berube believes the goalie won’t be out for much longer. Before getting hurt, Stolarz was off to a very strong start to his season, putting up a 2.15 GAA with a .927 SV% in his first 17 starts; that save percentage still leads the league among qualifying netminders.
- The Bruins announced that forward Patrick Brown and goaltender Michael DiPietro were assigned to AHL Providence. Both players were brought up earlier this week to cover injuries. Brown has done well in the minors with 25 points in 37 games but has made just two appearances with Boston so far. As for DiPietro, he has a stellar 1.95 GAA and a .930 SV% in 22 AHL outings but with Jeremy Swayman expected to return Saturday, his stint with the big club was short-lived.