Stamkos could return for Lightning during Stanley Cup Final against Stars

Steven Stamkos could return for the Tampa Bay Lightning at some point during the Stanley Cup Final against the Dallas Stars but did not play in a 4-1, Game 1 loss at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Saturday.

"He's still rehabbing," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said during Stanley Cup Final media day Friday. "We haven't ruled him out."
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
The Tampa Bay captain has been unfit to play during the Stanley Cup Playoffs but recently resumed skating and has been participating in occasional optional practices and morning skates, including Saturday. The 30-year-old sustained a lower-body injury before training camp for the postseason began July 13.
"He's been skating on and off," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said last Monday. "He's on a rehab routine], and so a lot of days he's either skating by himself or, if we've got optionals or a few guys skating, like [Monday], he's out there with the guys. But there's certain things he can and can't do. It's great to have him around, but nothing's changed in the playing department anytime soon."
***[RELATED: [Complete Lightning vs. Stars series coverage]*
Stamkos participated in drills with the top power-play unit during training camp in July but did not participate in a full practice until after the Lightning arrived in Toronto, the hub city for the Eastern Conference through the second round of the playoffs, on July 26. He experienced a setback after that and has yet to return to full practices.
Stamkos scored 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) in 57 regular-season games, second on the Lightning behind forward Nikita Kucherov (85 points; 33 goals, 52 assists) in 68 games. Stamkos has not played since Feb. 25; he had surgery to repair a core muscle injury March 2 and missed Tampa Bay's final five games before the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

Stamkos joined the Lightning on the ice for the celebration after they clinched their spot in the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 overtime win against the New York Islanders in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday.
"[Stamkos] is a huge part of our team," Cooper said Thursday. "He's our captain. He's been our captain for almost every day that I coached and he's a big reason why we're here, and this season he hasn't played in the postseason, but he's a big reason we made the playoffs, a big reason we finished pretty high in the conference."
Kucherov leads the postseason with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 20 games, and linemate Brayden Point is tied for second with Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 18 games. Victor Hedman's nine goals trailed only Paul Coffey (12 in 1985 with the Edmonton Oilers) and Brian Leetch (11 in 1994 with New York Rangers) for most by a defenseman in a playoff year. They are tied with Coffey for most by a defensseman before the Cup Final began.
"You need a lot of good players to get to this point, and resiliency," BriseBois said. "Once you get into the playoffs, the difference in talent between the teams is minimal and ... it really does come down to resiliency and taking advantage of the breaks you get along the way and overcoming the breaks that go against you along the way."
Point returned in Game 6 of the conference final after missing Games 3 and 5 because he was unfit to play. He played 20:37 in Game 1 of the Cup Final.
"I think everyone on both sides has got something they're dealing with," Point said. "You don't get here without getting dinged up a little bit. It's just about competing."