From January 16 to February 6 with McDonagh in the lineup, the Lightning gave up just two goals a game, third fewest in the NHL over that stretch.
Since February 6, when McDonagh blocked a shot against the Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin and suffered a lower-body injury, sidelining him for the past 12 games, the Lightning are allowing three goals a game.
Having McDonagh back will be a big boost for the defense.
So too will the return of Jan Rutta.
Rutta also skated with the Lightning Wednesday but is likely further away from a return as he wore a red no-contact jersey during practice. Rutta has missed 13-consecutive games after being run into from behind and into the boards during a win over the Vegas Golden Knights February 4. Since becoming a regular in the lineup, Rutta's been a mainstay on the Bolts' top pair alongside Victor Hedman and has been a valuable contributor to the penalty kill.
Rutta was two to three weeks away from returning BriseBois said back on February 24. He likely won't play on the upcoming road trip but after that should be in the day-to-day range.
"Rutta I think is a little bit further away, but he's a guy that helps us out a ton in all assets of the game," Killorn said.
Once McDonagh and Rutta return - and hopefully no other injuries crop up on the blueline - the Lightning can focus the final month of the season on once again becoming that stout defensive team that doesn't give up many chances and makes life easy on its goaltenders, a style that will prove beneficial come playoff time.
"They're great players for our team. They're great leaders," Yanni Gourde said. "It's good to see them on the ice with us. It just gives us a little bit of a boost, especially with the last week or few weeks where we've struggled for a little bit. I think it's good to see those faces back, and we're excited to have them back."