The Lightning’s revolving door of injuries continued this week, as defenseman Emil Lilleberg was placed on injured reserve and will be out for the foreseeable future.
Lilleberg, one of just four Lightning players to appear in every game this season, was injured Saturday after getting tangled up with Islanders center Kyle MacLean and going down awkwardly.
“I’d love to get him back before the Olympic break,” Cooper said. “I don’t know if that will happen.”
With Lilleberg out, the Lightning recalled defenseman Steven Santini from the Syracuse Crunch Monday morning.
Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak, along with goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, all remain on injured reserve.
Hedman underwent elbow surgery Monday and is expected to be out until Feb. 1. McDonagh has been skating with the team and is considered day-to-day, while Cernak is expected to remain sidelined a while longer with an apparent hand injury.
Backup goaltender Jonas Johansson will get his seventh consecutive start. Vasilevskiy was a full participant in practice over the weekend and was expected to return against the Panthers, but ultimately needed more time.
“I was hoping he was going to play on the road trip, he didn't,” Cooper said of Vasilevskiy. “Now I'm hoping he plays before Christmas.”