The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Gage Goncalves from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
This move comes just four days after he was re-assigned to the Crunch on Nov. 9. Goncalves has played in two games for the Lightning this season. So far, he has yet to find his way onto the scoresheet and has had one shot on goal in just over 10 minutes of ice time. He played two games with the Lightning last season – no points then either.
However, the expectations for the 23-year-old forward remain high. He was an AHL All-Star last season and has been productive in five AHL games this season. He has six assists for six points but no goals yet.
There have been no injury updates from the Lightning, at least not yet. Brayden Point has been out since Nov. 3 but it’s unsure if the move is related to that quite yet.
Point has been seen practicing with the team.
So, it could simply be that Goncalves is being recalled so the Lightning can try and shake things up ahead of their game against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursd
Since their 7-3-0 start to the season, the Lightning have dropped their last four games (0-3-1, including a shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in their most recent game). All these games have been close bouts with empty netters running up the score in the end for the multi-goal losses.
Missing Brayden Point and Erik Cernak hasn’t helped. But the bottom six could use a boost. Outside of Mitchell Chafee’s recent run, the production has been pretty top-heavy during the four-game skid.
