Boyle Could Be Back Before All-Star Break

PITTSBURGH - Injured D Dan Boyle flew to Baltimore on Friday morning for a checkup with Thomas Graham, the hand specialist who performed the second surgery on Boyle's left wrist in November. The team did not release much information on Boyle's visit, but assuming he has no setbacks, he could be cleared to return before next weekend's All-Star break.

Boyle has missed all but four games this season after a skate fell on his left wrist during the preseason. The skate severed three tendons in the wrist that control the action of the thumb, and surgery was necessary. He returned to the lineup on Oct. 29, but he was shut down after four games when an MRI revealed two of the three tendons did not reattach to the bone in his wrist. That forced a second procedure on Nov. 9.

The team continues to keep quiet regarding Boyle - the official team statement following Friday's doctor's visit said Boyle "is progressing nicely and no timetable has been set for his return." But a return seems imminent, with a possible target of next week for a pair of home games against Edmonton on Tuesday and Ottawa on Thursday before the four-day break for the All-Star Game.

"He looks good," Coach John Tortorella said. "But I don't want to hear about percentages. I just want to know when he can play."

Following Boyle's last visit to Graham on Dec. 27, the defenseman was given the all-clear to begin skating and an extensive rehabilitation program. He has slowly been increasing his participation in drills with the team since getting back on the ice earlier this month.

VINNY THE CAPTAIN: Lightning C Vinny Lecavalier was tabbed by the league to serve as the Eastern Conference captain for next weekend's All-Star Game in Atlanta.

"I was really surprised, and I didn't expect that phone call," Lecavalier said. "I didn't even think about it, and when they told me I was very excited. It's going to be a great honor."

Tortorella said he was thrilled when he heard the news.

"I think it's great," he said. "I think this is another step for Vinny to understand what leadership is, although it will be for a few days, I think it's an honor, and you hope he grows from it."

STRATEGIC SETTING: The locker stall of Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby sits in an open corner of the Pittsburgh dressing room, next to the empty stall with Mario Lemieux's name plate overhead. Crosby's locker was placed there by equipment manager Dana Heinze, who helped set up Tampa Bay's locker room when he was the assistant equipment manager for the Lightning.

"I think he did it because of you guys," Crosby said, referring to the media that surrounds his stall every day. "Now, instead of bothering two guys in adjoining locker stalls, I'm only getting in the way of one guy. But it's an honor" to be next to Lemieux's stall.

NUTS AND BOLTS: LW Andreas Karlsson was a healthy scratch for the fourth consecutive game. ... LW Andre Roy had gone 69 games without recording an assist before picking up a pair of primary assists in the first 11 minutes of Friday's game. ... RW Kyle Wanvig's first-period goal was his first point with the Lightning and first goal in the NHL since Jan. 20, 2006, when he was with Minnesota.

Erik Erlendsson