Hagel Game-Time Decision, Girgensons Out for Lightning Against Jets

The Tampa Bay Lightning have had a busy week, starting with Jon Cooper’s annual Coop’s Catch fishing tournament on Monday before returning to practice on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Forwards Brandon Hagel and Zemgus Girgensons missed both practices while dealing with undisclosed injuries sustained during the team’s three-game road trip through Vegas, Colorado and Utah.

Girgensons, who left Saturday’s game against the Mammoth early, will miss Thursday’s matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. Hagel will be a game-time decision.

The Lightning return to action after four full days off, with two games left in October before turning their attention to a division-heavy schedule in November.

Tampa Bay picked up three of a possible six points on its recent road trip. While the team came away with some positives, costly turnovers remain an area of concern.

“I think if you had to point a finger at something, it was costly turnovers that hurt us, said Lightning assistant Rob Zettler. “That's been a little bit of an achilles heel in the past. We did clean it up a little bit in the beginning of the season, but it reared its ugly head on the roadtrip.”