Steven Stamkos briefly left last night’s game after being hit in the head. He returned for the third period.
- Cam Tucker of Pro Hockey Talk: After taking a need to the head, Lightning staff and Stamkos felt he was good enough to return.
“Our staff said he was good to go and Steven said he was OK…so he played,” said Tampa Bay’s head coach Jon Cooper, as per David Amber of CBC.
“It was just something I tried to shake off,” said Stamkos, as per NHL.com. “Obviously, games like this you don’t want to miss any time, so I want to be out there as much as I can to help our team win. It was close tonight, but not good enough.”
- Brian Wilde: Stamkos told the medical staff that he wanted to go back in. He had a headache but wanted to continue playing.
Do you think Stamkos should have been allowed to return to the game? Should it be the coaches responsibility to not allow him to play if he thinks more damage could be done if he goes back out there?