TAMPA -- When Vincent Lecavalier went on injured reserve Thursday with a lower-body injury, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher said he would look to forward Adam Hall to step up and take more faceoffs.
That night against the New York Islanders, Hall skated 9:15 and won four of six faceoff opportunities.
Friday, the Lightning put Hall on waivers, and he was claimed Saturday by the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay's opponent Saturday night.
"You have to ask Steve [Yzerman, Lightning general manager] about that," Boucher said. "I'm not the one making moves; I coach the guys that are here. I know we are going in a certain direction and Adam has been great for us. He has a terrific attitude, he's a great faceoff guy, he is a guy that has given us honest work every single day. It's sad to see those guys having to deal with that. But at the same time there is a bigger plan and Steve's in charge of directing that bigger plan, so I won't comment on the guys who are leaving; for me it's important to focus on the guys that will stay here.”
Yzerman was not immediately available for comment.
The Lightning did get one piece of encouraging news with Tom Pyatt, injured March 12 against the Florida Panthers, set to return against the Hurricanes.
"We miss a lot when Tom Pyatt is not in the lineup," Boucher said. "He's relentless, he's fast, penalty kill, first on the puck, first backchecker, great in his defensive zone. He's one of those guys that brings it all, so he's part of the relentless culture that we want.”
Carolina had the morning off after practicing Friday.
Here are how the lineups likely will look Saturday night:
HURRICANES
Jiri Tlusty – Eric Staal – Alexander Semin
Jeff Skinner – Jordan Staal – Jussi Jokinen
Drayson Bowman – Riley Nash – Patrick Dwyer
Chris Terry – Tim Brent – Tim Wallace
Bobby Sanguinetti – Jamie McBain
Scratched: Kevin Westgarth
Injured: Cam Ward (knee), Chad LaRose (concussion), Joni Pitkanen (lower body), Tuomo Ruutu (hip)
LIGHTNING
Tom Pyatt – Steven Stamkos – Martin St. Louis
Alex Killorn – Tyler Johnson – Teddy Purcell
Ryan Malone – Nate Thompson – B.J. Crombeen
Ondrej Palat - Cory Conacher – Pierre-Cedric Labrie
Scratched: Brian Lee, Marc-Andre Bergeron
Injured: Vincent Lecavalier (lower body), Benoit Pouliot (upper body)
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