The news could have been a lot, lost worse. But none of three Lightning centers injured Thursday night will be able to play Saturday against the Florida Panthers. Head (here) for our friend Joe Smith's summary of the day-to-day status on Namestnikov, Johnson and Paquette. Jon Cooper addressed the media Saturday morning.
Not surprisingly the Lightning recalled a forward from Syracuse. The team's official press release:
TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Matthew Peca from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.
Peca, 23, has appeared in nine games with the Lightning this season, recording one goal and two points to go along with two penalty minutes. He made his NHL debut on December 28 against the Montreal Canadiens earlier this season. The Petawawa, Ontario native scored his first career NHL goal on January 3 against the Winnipeg Jets at AMALIE Arena.
The 5-foot-8, 178-pound forward has also skated in 53 games with the Crunch, registering eight goals and 30 points to go along with 12 penalty minutes. Peca ranks fifth on the Crunch for assists with 22 and sixth for points. Peca has skated in 126 career AHL games, all with the Crunch over the past three seasons, notching 17 goals and 77 points.
Peca was originally drafted by the Lightning in the seventh round, 201stoverall, at the 2011 NHL Draft.
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