With Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos out 1-3 months with a blood clot, there’s been a lot of talk about whether Jonathan Drouin will finally make his return to the NHL. That speculation hit a speed bump Sunday afternoon when it was revealed that he would not suit up for Sunday’s Syracuse Crunch game against the Utica Comets due to injury.
Head coach Rob Zeppler said pregame that Drouin “tweaked something in [his] lower body.” He also noted that he’s “had some issues with it in the past” and that the grueling Crunch schedule recently made it necessary to get him out of the lineup.
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That makes it sounds as though this isn’t a long-term thing and that he needs to be at 100% for the Crunch to make an unlikely run into the postseason or to get the call-up to the NHL and help the Lightning.