Tampa Bay Lightning forward Dominic James was activated off the injured reserve ahead of Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately, his tenure in the lineup didn’t initially last very long, but he quickly made his way back to the bench after an injury scare.
During his first shift of the night, James collided awkwardly with Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj. James’s ankle got caught in behind Xhekaj and took the brunt of the impact. Just 3:17 into the first period, James got off the ice under his own power and went down the tunnel to the dressing room.
James returned to the Lightning bench later in the period, seemingly avoiding the worst case scenario.
James is making his playoff debut for the Lightning after a respectable regular season performance as a rookie.The 23-year-old forward played in 43 regular season games for the Lightning, scoring seven goals and 15 points.