6 years agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson (upper body) has been ruled out of the team's season opener on Saturday against Florida. He's been nursing an injury since Sept. 23 and there were hopes of getting him fixed up for the Panthers game, but it didn't work out in the end. Head coach Jon Cooper is hopeful that Johnson can return in the second game of the year next Thursday against Vancouver. Yanni Gourde will start the season on the second line in Johnson's absence, while Mathieu Joseph, who had an outstanding training camp and led the team in scoring during the preseason with eight points, gets a chance to make his NHL debut on the third line. He's set to log minutes on the second power-play unit as well.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBaller
Source: Bryan Burns