Lightning goalie Mike Smith has stiff neck

Lightning goaltender Mike Smith remains off the ice with a stiff neck and some slight vision issues, but it continues to sound as if his absence from the net will not last long.

But one thing he is sure about - he's not suffering from a concussion.

"The main thing was I had stinging feeling in my neck, and it was obviously a concern especially after what happened last year," Smith said. "At least it wasn't my head, and I know the symptoms, I know what goes on and have a better understanding of why my vision was what it was. ... So right now it's just getting the neck feeling better and that will take care of all the rest of what's going on with my vision."

The hope is with rest and continued treatment Smith might be ready to return, barring any setbacks, during the three-game road trip that begins Saturday at Florida.

Smith sustained a cervical strain after Washington's Brooks Laich plowed into him during the first period of Tampa Bay's 7-4 victory Tuesday. As Smith stayed on the ice for several moments, the fear was he could have sustained another concussion such as the one which cost him the final two months of last season.

When play resumed in the second period Tuesday, he knew he had to take himself out of the game and not risk a worse situation, particularly with his vision acting up.

"It's not anything like a concussion symptom, it's more like those black dots I had that are still kind of lingering around and when things get tightened up in the back of my neck those tend to get a little worse," he said. "I felt it was better to be safe than sorry (to come out). I didn't want to play with something for two months again with something and then have something go really wrong."

Lightning trainer Tom Mulligan said Smith has not shown any signs of a concussion.

"There are no headaches, no memory loss, no fatigue and right now it's just neck pain," Mulligan said. "I know there's been some talk that he stumbled (a couple of times on the ice after the hit) but he had an issue with his skates."

While symptoms of a concussion can sometimes begin to show well after the fact, according to Mulligan, there is no indication Smith sustained another concussion.

Defenseman Matt Smaby, however, did sustain a concussion when he fell into the boards in Philadelphia on Saturday, Coach Rick Tocchet said.

Smaby also sustained a mild concussion early this season while on a conditioning assignment with Norfolk of the American Hockey League.

It doesn't appear Smaby will miss much time.

"I had my psych test and passed that, my symptoms are gone and it's just a matter of getting my body back into shape," Smaby said.

Fridge heating up: Injured left wing Todd Fedoruk, out since sustaining a knee injury Dec. 23, just awaits medical clearance before returning to action.

Fedoruk has been skating with the team since Jan. 7 and went through a full practice Wednesday.

"I feel like I'm ready," Fedoruk said. "I did a couple of tests where I see how much power I have to push off, and the last couple of times it's felt good."

Nuts and bolts

G Dustin Tokarski was called up from Norfolk to serve as backup to Antero Niittymaki. ... Defending Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff. ... Minor-league RW Martins Karsums, who cleared waivers Monday, was assigned to HC MVD Balashikha of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League. The Lightning are relinquished of Karsums' remaining salary but retain rights to the 23-year-old, who will represent Latvia in next month's Olympics.