Lightning’s Stamkos sore, but intends to play on Tuesday

Posted Mar 15, 2010 by Erik Erlendsson

Updated Mar 15, 2010 at 01:33 PM

Steven Stamkos woke up Monday no worse for the wear. For the Lightning, that’s good news.

Stamkos suffered a lower back contusion on the opening shift of Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh after hitting the end boards as a result of a hit by Penguins’ defenseman Brooks Orpik. Stamkos played through the pain on Sunday, but after the game the status of the sophomore sensation, who is third in the NHL with 42 goals, was uncertain.

On Monday, however, Stamkos made it clear that he has no intentions of sitting out Tuesday’s game against Phoenix.

“It’s stiff, but that’s to be expected the day after,’’ Stamkos said. “We’ll see how I feel (Tuesday), when I got out for a twirl on the ice . . . I think I’ll be good to go. I have a feeling the training staff is going to do a good job to do whatever we can to get it going. I can’t see myself not playing.’’

Stamkos, 20, already set franchise records this season with 18 power play goals and an 18-game scoring streak that was snapped on Friday in Washington and is now scoreless in consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 16-18. But there has to be a level of concern should Stamkos be limited in any capacity by a sore back in the final 14 games of the season as Tampa Bay attempts to stay in contention for a playoff spot.

“I’m trying to not go near him in case of what he might say,’’ Lightning coach Rick Tocchet joked. “But he gutted it out (Sunday), I’m proud of him, he tried his best. That’s a tough injury for him. It’s just part of the game.’’

The team held an optional practice on Monday morning, with only about 10 players taking to the ice, as Stamkos did not participate, instead receiving about two hours of treatment from the team’s medical staff. Stamkos was given anti-inflammatory medicine and will attempt to keep the lower left side of his back and glut muscle loose overnight before trying to skate on Tuesday morning.

Another player who is banged up is leading-scorer Marty St. Louis, who also did not take part in Tuesday’s optional skate. But St. Louis said what he’s dealing with is nothing out of the ordinary at this point in the season when the team is battling for their playoff lives.

“At this time of year, everybody plays with bumps and bruises, you just try to help the team as much as you can,’’ St. Louis said. “Have I felt better physically? Yeah, but if you can get by that one game where you don’t hurt what’s hurting, it buys you time to get it better and the next game you feel better. You are trying to get as OK as you can for each game, but you don’t want to miss games with bruises, you know, you have to fight through it. Everybody fights through it at this time of the year.’’