The Tampa Bay Lightning introduced Sunday that proper winger Oliver Bjorkstrand is week-to-week with a lower-body harm. The Lightning have three video games left within the common season, together with one Sunday in opposition to the Buffalo Sabres, and it is unclear if the 30-year-old will likely be prepared for the beginning of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bjorkstrand suffered the harm in an time beyond regulation loss to the Detroit Crimson Wings on Friday. The Lightning ahead came to visit from the Seattle Kraken in a commerce earlier than the 2025 NHL commerce deadline.
“It is robust as a result of he is actually grown into his position with us, and hopefully we’ll have him again for the playoffs sooner or later,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper stated, by way of NHL.com.
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Bjorkstrand has performed in 18 video games with the Lightning because the commerce, scoring 5 targets and handing out 4 assists. For the season, he has 21 targets and 25 assists. That is the sixth season in his profession by which he has hit the 20-goal mark, so this can be a bummer of an harm blow for Tampa Bay proper earlier than the playoffs. His career-high mark got here within the 2021-22 season when he scored 28 targets as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Lightning have 98 factors on the season, they usually’re presently tied for second with the Florida Panthers within the Atlantic Division and fourth general within the Japanese Convention. Tampa Bay is hoping to keep away from a 3rd straight season with a first-round exit, which got here after three consecutive Stanley Cup Ultimate journeys. The primary two of these visits resulted in hoisting the Stanley Cup.
That is the Lightning’s first season with out franchise legend Steven Stamkos since he started his profession in 2008-09. With Stamkos out of the image as a member of the Nashville Predators, star Nikita Kucherov has continued to dominate, although his 116 factors are effectively shy of the career-high 144 he put up final season. Kucherov and Co. are gearing up for the playoffs, however they might must do it with out Bjorkstrand.