Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Witkowski, Bournival To Syracuse Crunch
The Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned defenseman Luke Witkowski and forward Michael Bournival to the Syracuse Crunch.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been through more than their fair share of trials and tribulations this season when it comes to injuries. Being completely honest, the Lightning have probably dealt with more than three teams worth of injuries this early in the season.
As most Lightning fans know by now, all of these injuries to some of the Lightning’s most integral players have resulted in the need to call up some reinforcements from the Bolts’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
Thankfully, it looks like things may finally be working in the Lightning’s favor. Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced earlier today via the Lightning’s official site the organization has reassigned defenseman Luke Witkowski and forward Michael Bournival to the Syracuse Crunch.
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Luke Witkowski has been on the Lightning’s main roster since November 19th when the Bolts took on the Philadelphia Flyers. While Witkowski may not have made his way to the score sheet, he has been invaluable when it comes to being a thorn in the side of his opponents.
Witkowski laid out a total of nine hits in the six games he’s played this season. This puts the 26-year-old Lightning defenseman in first place on the team in regards of hits per game. Considering the level of defensemen the Lightning have, this is a pretty big accomplishment.
Michael Bournival has played in three games with the Lightning since joining the team on December 1st as the Lightning took on the St. Louis Blues. While Bournival may not have made his way to the scoresheet in the Lightning lineup, he has certainly been having a good season with the Syracuse Crunch.
Bournival has played in 17 games so far this season with the Syracuse Crunch. In that amount of time, Bournival has scored five goals and six assists for a total of 11 points. The 24-year-old forward is tied with Joel Vermin for fifth place on the team in overall points.
As of right now, there has been no official word from the team in regards to any particular player making their return, but there is a possibility the Lightning could be in store for some good news on Thursday. According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper said he believed defenseman Jason Garrison would “turn the corner” by Thursday.
Another player who could be in the mix for a return is Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan. Callahan was placed on Injured Reserve on December 1st. This means Cally would be eligible to return the day before the Lightning takes on the Vancouver Canucks. Of course, this depends on how his recovery is going.
It would certainly be nice to see the Tampa Bay Lightning get some of their players back in the lineup. While the Lightning have plenty of talent within their developmental system to keep the team moving forward, nothing compares to the chemistry built between teammates.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will charge back into the Amalie Arena on Thursday night to do battle with the Vancouver Canucks. The action is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. As always, you can catch all the action on Fox Sports Sun or on the Fox Sports Go app. You can also tune into the action on 970WFLA or TBL Power Play on iHeartRadio.
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