Tampa Bay Lightning
TAMPA — For the first time since the trade deadline, the Lightning put forth the defensive unit envisioned when veteran D Braydon Coburn was acquired from Philadelphia.
Jason Garrison made his return in Game 4 against Detroit after missing four weeks with an upper-body injury, but Tampa Bay dressed seven defensemen for that game. For Saturday’s Game 5, coach Jon Cooper went with the more traditional lineup with 12 forwards and six defensemen, with D Nikita Nesterov the healthy scratch after warming up.
“Garrison is coming back into his own now, he’s got a game under his belt, and Coburn is getting better with each game,” Cooper said.