Technically, a week before Christmas is still “before Christmas”. That’s the timeline head coach Jon Cooper gave reporters prior to the Lightning’s 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers when he was asked about the health of Andrei Vasilevskiy. On Tuesday, the Lightning made a couple of moves that would indicate that their all-world goaltender is ready to return to action.
The team announced that Scott Sabourin and Brandon Halverson had been assigned to Syracuse. There does remain the chance that this is just a roster move as the Syracuse Crunch do play on Wednesday. Both players could suit up for that game and then be eligible for a recall if the Lightning’s injured players aren’t quite ready to step onto the ice.