Lightning rally around recovering Callahan
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost forward Ryan Callahan unexpectedly when he was forced to undergo an emergency appendectomy before Game 6 of Tampa's second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens, but the Lightning kept Callahan's spirit around for the decisive game in the series.
"Cally’s been a warrior for us since he’s been here," Tampa captain Steven Stamkos told NHL.com. "We miss him out there for sure, but we had his name up on the board before the game as a little inspiration and guys stepped up."
Tampa coach Jon Cooper told NHL.com that Callahan was "a big topic of discusssion" before Game 6 and Callahan turned into somewhat of a rallying point for the Bolts. According to the Tampa team website, Cooper suggested that Callahan's post-op recovery could be swift, as he could return in a matter of days instead of weeks. The extra time off in between the second round and third round of the playoffs also helps give Callahan more time to recover without missing too many games.
(h/t Tampa Bay Lightning)
Photo by Kim Klement - USA Today Sports
