Lightning's Callahan out after appendectomy
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without forward Ryan Callahan in Game 6. (USATSI)
When the Tampa Bay Lightning try to wrap up their second round playoff series with the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night they will have to do so without top-line forward Ryan Callahan.
Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune reported on Monday night that Callahan will be out indefinitely after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Monday night.
At this point there is no timetable for his return beyond the fact that he will not play on Tuesday night.
Acquired at the 2013-14 NHL trade deadline in the deal that sent Martin St. Louis to the New York Rangers, Callahan re-signed with the Lightning over the summer when he agreed to a six-year $34.8 million contract before hitting the unrestricted free agent market. He spent most of the 2014-15 season playing alongside Steven Stamkos on the Lightning’s top line, recording 54 points (24 goals, 30 assists) in 77 games.
Like most of the Lightning forwards outside of Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, Callahan has had a difficult time producing offense this postseason and has only three assists (and no goals) through his first 12 playoff games against the Detroit Red Wings and Canadiens.
The Lightning played Game 5 on Saturday night with only 11 forwards in their lineup, choosing to go with seven defensemen and sitting youngsters Jonathan Drouin and Vladislav Namestnikov. One of those two will have to dress on Tuesday night — and for the foreseeable future as long as the Lightning continue to advance in the postseason — to replace Callahan.
Tampa Bay leads the best-of-7 series 3-2 but has lost the past two games after winning the first three. On Tuesday, they will try to avoid what would be their first three-game losing streak of the season.
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