BRANDON, Fla. — The Lightning expect defenseman Erik Cernak to be back in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Devils in New Jersey.
The team’s top right-shot defenseman missed the past nine games with a lower-body injury suffered in a win over Vancouver on Jan. 13.
Cernak return will give the Lightning a boost, as he averages nearly 20 minutes per game and serves a valuable role on the top penalty-killing unit. He has missed 27 of the Lightning’s 48 games this season, sidelined with hand and foot injuries from blocking shots.
After being hampered by injuries all season, the Lightning’s forward corps is finally healthy. Cernak’s return, along with the eventual return of veteran Zach Bogosian, will bolster the defense, potentially putting Tampa Bay at full strength physically for the first time since the season opener.
“We know what’s expected of us but, in the end you obviously want to have your full lineup and get some chemistry going and get some confidence going as a full group back there,” said defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who pairs with Cernak at full strength and on the penalty kill. “But you know, I think we’ve done really well, obviously, handling adversity pretty much since game one.
“Guys being hurt, it’s a part of the game and you’ve got to be ready, and guys have really stepped up, different guys getting called up and playing a lot of minutes here and there. So we found ways to grab a lot of points here. I’m excited to see Cerny play. … He’s a big, big piece back there for us and a big body that’s tough to play against.”
Gaining continuity will be important for the Lightning, who close the regular season with 31 games in 61 days in March and April.
“I guess the good thing is that we haven’t lost a ton of guys all at the same time, but we seem to lose guys for these prolonged stretches,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Since opening night, I don’t think we’ve had our full lineup in.
“It’s good and bad. One, you want to play with your group, and two, we’ve been able to hang in there without everybody. It’s gotten some other guys some ice time, which will only benefit us and them down the road.”
With Cernak and Bogosian sidelined, second-year defenseman Cal Foote has earned valuable ice time, logging 18 or more minutes four times in his past 11 games, He hadn’t skated more than 16:56 in any of his first 23.
“I think he’s grabbed the opportunity and ran with it,” McDonagh said. “He’s shown great strides as far as being counted on, sometimes playing over 20 minutes, sometimes playing less than that, just taking what’s given out there.
“So I think he’s done a good job, being harder to play against, using that size. His frame and his patience with the puck has certainly grown, too, understanding when there’s a play to be made or when to be simple.”
Cooper said Bogosian, who has missed 25 games this season, is still about two weeks from returning (possibly at the beginning of March) from a lower-body injury that required surgery.
That’s where the Lightning’s February schedule becomes advantageous. After their last postponed game is made up Tuesday, they have just two more games over the final 13 days of the month, giving Bogosian and others needing rest time to heal before the busy final two months.
Cooper said the injuries have allowed him to see how other players can contribute. Rookies Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk have been regulars for most of the season — though Katchouk has been a healthy scratch the past two games — which makes the Lightning stronger as a whole.
But Cooper is looking forward to getting core players ice time together, especially considering Nikita Kucherov has played in just 13 games and Brayden Point missed 14.
“That line has not played together as much as we’d like,” Cooper said. “So that’s part of it, to get some of these players time. Cernak is a 20-plus-minute guy that has played 20 games.
“So we’re getting some of the guys that are used to playing more reps and picking up the pace of their play. But it’s been a great evaluation process for us.”
