Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson skated Tuesday for the first time since his head hit the boards after a shove Saturday, but his status for Wednesday's playoff opener against the Detroit Red Wings remains up in the air.
"I feel pretty good, getting better every day," Johnson said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. "That's all that really matters. ... I'm still trying to decide, so I'll talk with the coaching staff, see how I feel [Wednesday]. I felt OK. There's things I want to feel better for, so we'll see how it goes."
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Johnson, who had 14 goals and 24 assists in a down year this season, is a game-time decision.
The Lightning could use more good news. They did get some encouraging words from captain Steven Stamkos, who is sidelined 1-3 months after surgery for a blood clot. The team visited him at the hospital Monday.
"You can tell he wants to be there [on the ice]," forward Alex Killorn said, according to the newspaper. "In the case he could come back, he really wants to make sure we go back to the final to give him a chance to play again this season. That was kind of his message, 'Just go to the finals and maybe I'll see you guys.'"
The Lightning will see defenseman Victor Hedman. He said Monday that he'll play Wednesday after missing the final three games of the season with an upper-body injury.
Like Stamkos, other players are in limbo. Defenseman Anton Stralman broke his leg March 25 and is out indefinitely. Wingers Nikita Kucherov and Ryan Callahan also have been limping around but hope to be ready for Wednesday.
