When elite athletes compete on the field, the court or the rink there will always be the risk of injury. It’s a part of the game that nobody ever wants to think about but will always be there.
In team sports, one player can still carry the weight and influence to affect the outcome of the game. Steven Stamkos is one of those elite athletes, and was plucked from the fray by the cruel and indifferent hockey gods for an indefinite amount of time. A freak injury snapped Stamkos’ tibia in half, dashing the star center’s Olympic hopes and derailing an excellent start from his Tampa Bay Lightning.
At the time of the injury Stamkos' Lightning were tied with second place Boston 0-0. After seeing their best player carried off the ice on a stretcher, not much else could have been expected from the stunned Lightning squad. A 3-0 loss at the defending conference champions is the least of the worries in Tampa with 65 games left in the season.
The only silver lining to losing Stamkos so early in the season is that a four-month recovery time could put him back on the ice in time for a playoff push. The problem is that Tampa must now play four months without their leading scorer and biggest offensive threat.
Goaltending has been the biggest difference in Tampa’s success this year so far, but can Ben Bishop anchor the defense if the Lightning struggle to score? Coach Jon Cooper has gotten some significant offensive support from Alex Killorn, Teddy Purcell, and Valtteri Filppula, but can they continue to produce? Reigning scoring champion Martin St. Louis has been sharp all year, but the mighty mite will have a considerable load to shoulder until Stamkos returns.
There will be very little turnaround time for Tampa Bay as they face division rival Montreal Tuesday night. There will be no sympathy from the Canadiens or anyone else for that matter. The cruel nature of sports means that opportunities arise when another team struggles.
Cooper will possibly use the 2013 Ottawa Senators as inspiration for his club. Coach Paul MacLean was forced to play large parts of the abbreviated season without stars Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson and still managed to reach the playoffs. The former coach of the Tampa affiliates in Norfolk and Syracuse, Cooper is familiar with the talent pool he’ll need to stay competitive in the NHL.
The biggest question however is how Stamkos will come back. He certainly isn’t the first player to be faced with a significant injury, but whether he can make it back this season will depend largely on whether Tampa is in the playoff hunt. Of course the long-term health of their franchise player will be paramount, but the competitive nature of Stamkos could come into play.
Ultimately I think that the Lightning will struggle to stay competitive in the Atlantic Division. There is just too much talent among five teams (Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Ottawa, Montreal) that can and will finish ahead of them with or without Stamkos. The NHL will miss the electricity that the best pure goal scorer brings to the ice, but at age 23, we’ll still have plenty of years to enjoy his work.