Lightning Recall Dominic James Ahead of Seattle Matchup

The Tampa Bay Lightning recalled forward Dominic James on Wednesday, five days after assigning him to the Syracuse Crunch. The Lightning are set to host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena.

The 24-year-old has been working his way back from a hand injury suffered during his first workout with the team this summer. He was initially expected to miss the first two weeks of the season and has since returned to full participation in practice.

With the Lightning using an 11-forward, seven-defenseman lineup, the assignment to Syracuse gave James a chance to get back into game action after missing all of training camp.

James appeared in 43 games with Tampa Bay last season, recording seven goals and 15 points while averaging 12:14 of ice time. He also played in all seven of the Lightning’s playoff games, finishing with two goals and three points. His two goals tied him for second among Lightning skaters in the postseason.

The Lightning could have kept James in Syracuse a bit longer, so his recall could signal a potential lineup shift ahead of Thursday’s game.

Jeffrey Viel’s availability could be one worth watching. The Lightning forward went down the tunnel after fighting 6-foot-9 Matt Rempe during Tuesday night’s game against the Rangers. 

The Lightning also have the option to go with a 12-forward, six-defenseman lineup. However, sticking with seven defensemen gives Jon Cooper more flexibility to manage minutes on the blue line, which has proven to work well so far this season.