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Lightning will wait and see on Foster

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 7, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. - After missing the previous two days of practice, Lightning D Kurtis Foster returned to the ice Tuesday and made it through a full skate with the players who were scratched for that night's game against the Hurricanes.

Foster, who was leveled by Atlanta's Eric Boulton in the first period, left Saturday's season opener with an undisclosed lower-body injury and was expected to be out five to seven days. He said the swelling has come down in the injured area, and he wanted to see how it felt when skating.

"Now, (Monday) it felt OK and (Tuesday) it felt the same, so I said let's go for a whirl and see how it feels and it felt pretty good," he said. "I hope to start practicing (today)."

Although he said he's feeling much better and is optimistic he will return to the lineup no later than Saturday, Foster said he is scheduled to see a team doctor today to diagnose the problem. Until he does, there is no timetable for a return even though he made it through Tuesday's skate.

"I honestly don't know. I wish I could tell you," Foster said. "We haven't really put a timetable on it yet because we are on the road, so once I see the doctor we'll be able to get the exams I need. So we just have to maintain the swelling and range of motion."

On the board

Last year, D Andrej Meszaros didn't register his first goal with the Lightning until Jan. 8, quite a drought for a player who had 26 goals in his first three NHL seasons with Ottawa.

But after scoring in Saturday's season opener, Meszaros, who had two goals in 52 games last season, won't have to worry about going half the season without putting one on the score sheet.

"It feels nice, and it's good to get one right off the bat like that," said Meszaros, who appeared in his 300th career game Tuesday. "It's not going to stop me from trying to score more, but for me it's more important that the team wins. I want to play well and contribute in any way that I can."

The soon-to-be 24-year-old played his first regular-season game on Saturday since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury on Feb. 4 in Pittsburgh. Meszaros said everything is fine with the shoulder, although it was only one game into a long schedule.

"There's no problems, but it's going to get tested more and more as we start to play just about every other day here coming up," he said.

Nuts and bolts

G Mike Smith appeared in his 100th career game. ... RW Marty St. Louis appeared in his 310th consecutive game, the seventh-longest active streak in the league. It is also the third-longest streak in team history behind Cory Sarich (388) and Brad Richards (344). ... Assistant coach Adam Oates worked from the bench Tuesday as Wes Walz moved to the press box.

Erik Erlendsson

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