The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to have some grit back in their lineup.
Head coach Jon Cooper confirmed after the morning skate on Tuesday that forward Tanner Jeannot will be back on the ice for the team’s Atlantic Division matchup against the Boston Bruins, as he is being activated off injured reserve.
The 26-year-old has been out of the lineup since Jan. 6, when he suffered a lower-body injury against, coincidentally, the Bruins, in Boston. He was placed on IR the following week, and was briefly put on long-term injured reserve to clear up temporary cap space.
Jeannot has had two significant injuries since Tampa acquired him from the Nashville Predators last February. He suffered a lower-body injury in April that kept him for the first three games of their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This injury has caused the former Moose Jaw Warrior to miss 12 games, in which the Bolts have played pretty well, going 9-3-0 after their victory this past Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Jeannot is on pace to have a better year, offensively, than his 18-point 2022-23 season. However, with six goals and six assists in 41 games, he is still searching for that scoring touch that led him to notching 24 goals and 41 points in the 2021-22 campaign.
He is currently in the first year of a two-year contract with a $2.665 million cap hit, that he signed with the Lightning this past offseason.
In 213 career games, Jeannot has scored 41 goals and 37 assists, with just two assists in 12 playoff games.
The Lightning (28-20-5) are holding onto third in the Atlantic, just one point ahead of both the Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. Tampa is 12 points back of the Bruins for first.
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