The Tampa Bay Lightning have been playing some great hockey in the playoffs, as they’re currently in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Surprisingly, the team has stayed afloat without leading scorer Steven Stamkos, who’s been shelved with blood clots. Stamkos is hoping to rejoin his Lightning teammates and is testing a new medication that may accelerate his return to the team.
Mike Zeisberger of the Postmedia Network reports the Lightning are experimenting with a new blood-thinning medication in an attempt to get Stamkos back into action.
“There’s different ways around it when it comes to that,” Stamkos told Zeisbeger on Sunday. “There’s different options that we’ve explored. There’s injectable blood-thinning medication that I’m on right now.
“There have been guys that have played in this league who are on it.”
As Zeisberger notes, Stamkos is referring to defenseman Kimmo Timonen’s return to action last season. The former Blackhawks rearguard developed blood clots and missed a majority of the regular season. He used the medication to return to action in the playoffs and went on to win the Stanley Cup. That’s best case scenario for Stamkos. Stamkos said reading articles about players who’ve bounced back from blood clot issues “puts your mind at ease a little bit.”
It might seem unlikely, but if the Lightning can get Stamkos back, their Stanley Cup chances increase significantly. That’s a big ‘if,’ but given it seemed Stamkos would miss the entire playoffs, it’s a great development for the team.
[TheScore]
