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Lightning Injuries Continue To Pile Up

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2007

BRANDON - The training room inside the Lightning locker room resembled a corner coffee house during the preseason - it's where everyone seemed to assemble.

And it wasn't all just for social hour.

Tampa Bay's media relations staff found itself dealing with daily injury reports as much as any other request since training camp opened Sept. 13. It got to be so epidemic-like that by the end of the second exhibition game - and on more than one occasion since - Lightning coach John Tortorella informed his players not to discuss anything related to injuries with members of the media.

The latest to show up on the injury report was left winger Andreas Karlsson, who left practice Monday with an abdominal strain. He was walking around the locker room gingerly and his status for Thursday's season opener against New Jersey is unclear, as the Lightning will keep Mathieu Darche around in case Karlsson can't play.

When asked about it in the locker room before he left the Ice Sports Forum, the normally easygoing Karlsson responded with 'I have nothing to say.'

It's the latest in an ever-growing list that includes two players who have been placed on the injured list - Dan Boyle (wrist) and Ryan Craig (back), although both are eligible to come off once they are cleared to play - and a handful of others including Chris Gratton (eye), Michel Ouellet (hamstring), Paul Ranger (shoulder), Nick Tarnasky (broken nose), Vinny Lecavalier (upper body) and Jan Hlavac (bruised foot), who either missed game action during the preseason or left during the course of a game.

Maybe it can all be chalked up to Tampa Bay's first test of adversity.

'It's training camp, so adversity? We haven't even started yet,' Lecavalier said. 'It's definitely tough to lose guys, but it's part of the game. We are starting on Thursday, so we'll start from there. We are still a very confident team.'

The message has been clear from the coaching staff that injuries will not be an excuse for anything. But it has been tough to form any type of continuity or chemistry among the players when the full squad was not on the ice together during any of the five preseason games, something even Tortorella admitted to after Saturday's final exhibition game.

'It's been a little frustrating just losing people within the game and not getting a solid lineup,' he said. 'But it is what it is.'

When the curtain does rise Thursday, there is a touch of good news as Gratton - who suffered a corneal abrasion Sept. 19 - is expected to be ready to play after missing the final four games of the preseason while Ranger and Tarnasky, who both left Saturday's game, are not expected to miss any time. In addition, Craig's herniated disc is showing improvement while Boyle continues to show progress while recovering from surgery to repair three severed tendons in his left wrist.

And the silver lining in it all is the additional depth within the organization that developed as others, such as Darche, showed.

'While it's been a crazy camp from the standpoint of the injuries and all that we have gone through, what I feel good about is the fact that we have this kind of depth,' Lightning general manager Jay Feaster said. 'For me, if Andreas is not able to play Thursday night and Darche does, it's a push. That to me is the best news that we had in camp is that the guys who we sent out of here on the weekend are guys who are right there knocking on the door to be on this hockey team. I think we are deeper.

'So whether it's adversity or whatever it may be, at least we have an answer for it right now.'

WAIVER CLEARS: Kyle Wanvig, Bryce Lampman, defenseman Mike Egener and Darche all cleared waivers Monday, with Wanvig and Lampman being assigned to Norfolk of the American Hockey League. Egener, who didn't attend training camp with the Lightning, had to clear waivers because he is part of the team's 50-man roster.

Darche cleared but was not assigned due to the injury to Karlsson. The team has 30 days or 10 games before he would have to clear waivers again to be assigned.

HIGH-DEF SCHEDULE: Sun Sports will broadcast 25 of the 70 games the network will televise in high-definition this season, up from 10 last year. The first HD broadcast will be opening night Thursday against New Jersey.

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

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