TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The past week has been a whirlwind for the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos.
Although you did not know it at the time, he suffered a lower body injury in the game against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Then, on Thursday, the team announced he would not play in the game against the Florida Panthers because of that injury. Stamkos was listed as day to day.
Finally, on Friday, he landed on the NHL COVID-19 protocol list. Stamkos commented on that development almost immediately.
He would be correct. He had experienced a false positive COVID-19 test.
“Just the way the whole process works with the amount of testing we are doing, the rapid testing and the regular testing, it was bound to happen,” Stamkos stated on Monday. “It has happened a few times to other players in the league. We kind of had a really good sense it was going to be a false positive and it turned out it was.”
While that false positive test prevented him from playing in the game on Saturday, he would likely not have played due to his injury. However, he did not enjoy being separated from his team.
“The last couple of days sucked,” admitted Stamkos, “because you cannot skate, you cannot go in with the guys, you cannot get the treatment that you want but that is the protocol to create a safe environment and I am just excited to be back.”
Stamkos did skate with his teammates on Monday morning and he appears to be ready to return after missing two games.
“It felt good,” he said, “and I am ready to go tonight.”
