"We said the plan was to play Game 1, so that's the plan," Stamkos said. "Looking forward to getting out there and competing with the guys. We haven't strayed away from that. Got a couple good practices in and it felt good, so I'm ready.".
The 28-year-old was second on the Lightning with 86 points (27 goals, 59 assists) in 78 games this season after missing 65 games in 2016-17 with a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.
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Forward Nikita Kucherov was Tampa Bay's leading scorer with 100 points (39 goals, 61 assists).
"It does say a lot about his character and his drive that there's setback and he comes back from it," Cooper said of Stamkos' latest injury. "There's another setback and each one of those it seems it gets a little harder to come back, and he still finds a way to the point he's garnered nearly 90 points. It's a tribute to him."
Stamkos missed 16 of 17 games in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs before returning for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. But he has been productive in the postseason when healthy, with 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 49 playoff games. Stamkos played in all 26 games and had 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) during the Lightning's run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
Stamkos will be on a line with Kucherov and J.T. Miller, who had 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in 19 games with the Lightning after being acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on Feb. 26.
