Lightning place Dominic James on injured reserve

The Lightning have placed forward Dominic James on injured reserve, per Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider. He sustained an undisclosed injury in Saturday’s game against the Capitals. Thanks to Tampa’s light schedule, he’s only been ruled out for tomorrow’s game against the Rangers as a result of the backdated placement.

James and the Bolts hope it’s only a light interruption as he works through his first taste of NHL action. The 23-year-old pivot was a sixth-round pick by the Blackhawks in 2022 and spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, but he became a free agent this year on Aug. 15 after failing to come to terms on an entry-level deal with Chicago. He landed one from Tampa at the beginning of camp. He didn’t crack the opening night roster but got off to a hot start with AHL Syracuse, rattling off three goals and five points in his first four professional games. That earned him a recall to the Lightning’s roster in late October, and he’s stuck there for a few weeks now.

The injury is particularly tough timing as he was beginning to find his groove. After going without a point through his first seven games, James had a three-point effort, including his first NHL goal, in their 6-3 win over the Golden Knights on Nov. 6. He followed that up with an assist over the weekend before sustaining his injury. His last two showings leave him with a 1-3–4 scoring line through his first nine NHL games, averaging 12:46 of ice time per contest and going 46.4% on faceoffs.

James has gotten an extended look centering Tampa’s third line between Gage Goncalves and Oliver Bjorkstrand while Nick Paul remains on injured reserve following offseason surgery. The trio has been the Bolts’ best so far at controlling play at 5-on-5 with a 65.3% share of expected goals in 53 minutes together, according to MoneyPuck. With James out, veteran Yanni Gourde will get more consistent top-nine deployment.