Lightning’s Emil Lilleberg out week-to-week; Vasilevsky return potentially before Christmas

Some injury updates for one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

When speaking to the media on Monday, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper revealed that defenseman Emil Lilleberg is going to miss a few weeks due to injury.

Cooper also mentioned that goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy could return before Christmas.

Cooper mentioned that the team hopes Lilleberg will be back in the lineup before the Winter Olympics in February, but no official timeline has been provided.

Lilleberg appeared to be injured late in the second period during Saturday night’s game between the Lightning and the New York Islanders. The Norwegian blueliner took a hit in the offensive zone and was laboring his way back to the bench. He didn’t come out for the third period. Lilleberg registered 13:30 of ice time across 15 shifts, with Tampa going on to lose 3-2 in a shootout on Long Island.

The 24-year-old had appeared in each of the team’s first 32 games of the season. He has scored two goals and four assists for six points, with a plus/minus of +9 while averaging 17:21 of ice time per game.

In response to Lilleberg’s injury, Tampa called up defender Steven Santini from its American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.

Cooper stated last week that there was a possibility that Vasilevskiy could play on Monday night against the rival Florida Panthers. However, that timeline has obviously changed. The Russian netminder was placed on injured reserve last week, almost a week after his last appearance on Dec. 2, coincidentally against the Islanders.

Prior to the injury, the 31-year-old was rolling. Prior to losing to the Islanders in last start, he had won each of his previous six starts, helping push Tampa to the top of the Atlantic Division. In 19 starts this season, he has a record of 11-6-2, with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. He delivered a 20-save shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 24.

Heading into Monday night, Tampa (18-11-3) is just ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for first in the Atlantic.