When the Tampa Bay Lightning take to the ice at Benchmark International Arena on Thursday, one player in particular might stand out.
Forward Nick Paul should be in the lineup for Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Edmonton Oilers. The game would be Paul’s season debut after missing the first 19 games of 2025-26 following offseason surgery to repair a wrist tear.
He looks forward to getting back into the mix on Thursday for the Lightning, who enter the game 10-7-2.
“At the start of the injury, I wasn't really with the team a bunch. They were doing their own thing, and I was staying back and doing rehab and kind of cheering from afar. It was tough,” Paul said after Thursday’s morning skate. “Two months doesn't go by very fast when you're watching games and itching to get out there, but the boys did a great job, and I'm just hoping to come back into the lineup, do my part."
Paul, 30, was activated from injured reserve on Thursday morning. He skated on a line with Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point during Thursday’s morning skate.
The forward scored 22 goals and 41 points for the Lightning a season ago and can play up and down the lineup. He ranked sixth among all Lightning players in 2024-25 for points and goals.
“He’s awesome,” Lightning forward Gage Goncalves said of Paul. "He always kind of springs off energy in all aspects of his game, so we’re excited to have that voice back on the bench for us.”
Paul’s first point of the season will be the 200th of his NHL career.
