TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Lightning have had a supremely qualified cheerleader in their corner while cruising through two rounds of these Stanley Cup playoffs.
One with more than 400 goals and 800 points on his NHL resume.
Steven Stamkos has been conspicuously absent from this Lightning run, sheltered away inside the NHL bubble and with next to no official information provided by the team about the nature of his injury or his potential return.
The Tampa captain made an appearance in a behind-the-scenes video posted after the five-overtime win over Columbus on Aug. 11 but has otherwise been hidden from view.
On Friday afternoon, with the Lightning still awaiting their Eastern Conference Final opponent, head coach Jon Cooper said it’s been "frustrating" not having Stamkos available to play.
"I think this year’s team, he included, it’s a close group. It’s a really close group," said Cooper. "Everybody wants him to play and he wants to play, but as of now … you get caught up in the collective momentum of how we’re doing things and everybody’s just pushing each other.
"He’s just as big a supporter of our group as anybody and so it’s good to see."
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In the video shared by the Lightning during the first round, Stamkos could be seen playfully splashing water on Brayden Point before embracing the overtime hero from that marathon game.
Tampa has not ruled out the possibility of Stamkos returning to play during these playoffs and Cooper is promising to update the 30-year-old forward’s status before the conference final opens Monday night in Edmonton.
Ahead of the Bruins series, Cooper didn’t offer much on Stamkos: "He’s not available right now, again rehabbing. When he’s going to be available, I will let you know. There’s no further updates. It’s pointless to keep asking about it."
Stamkos underwent core muscle surgery on March 2 and was given a six- to eight-week recovery timeline. That passed during the NHL’s COVID-19 pause. Stamkos then suffered a lower-body injury during Phase 2 workouts with Lightning players in June, but was a full participant in practices after the team entered the Toronto bubble in late July.
What he’s been doing since is unknown — with practices closed to the media. Perhaps a little more clarity will arrive in the coming days.
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However, it speaks to the Lightning’s depth that they managed to dispatch both Columbus and Boston in five games without their captain available. Point and Nikita Kucherov have led the way offensively, while Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat each had a monstrous impact during the Bruins series.
The Lightning have enjoyed some rest and relaxation since eliminating Boston on Monday and bought Stamkos more rehab time. They plan to travel west to Edmonton on Saturday morning – before the Islanders and Flyers play Game 7 to determine their opponent in the next round – and will have a chance to get settled in before Round 3 begins.
Cooper sounded a touch wistful about preparing to leave Toronto’s Hotel X, a place they’ve called home since July 26.
"I think it’s going to be weird. Like even practising today, leaving the practice facility, we’ve been there basically five days a week. I don’t know, you get a little nostalgic here even though it’s only been 40 days," said Cooper. "But we’re looking forward to moving on because moving on somewhere else, it means that we’ve advanced and we’re doing something right and I think it’ll be a good chance with the new surroundings to be like a reset for us.
"I think that’s going to help with our mental makeup going in to Game 1."
