The Tampa Bay Lightning will get a boost tonight against the Senators when left wing Ryan Malone returns to the lineup after missing seven games with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Malone worked at the morning skate on a line with center Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis.

"I think we're going to give it a shot and I'm excited to get back in the lineup," Malone said. "It's as good as it's going to get right now, but it's ready to go."

Malone apparently has been well enough to play for at least a few days but has been held out, coach Guy Boucher said, as a precaution. Especially disappointing for Malone was not playing Sunday against his former team, the Penguins, in his hometown.

Malone reluctantly said he was on board with the decision.

"Yeah," he said, "I mean, you have to make sure it's ready to go and we don't have any setbacks here."

Other stuff from the morning skate: Mathieu Garon gets the start in net for the Lightning. ... Defensemen Matt Gilroy (hand) and Marc-Andre Bergeron (back) will sit out tonight. With Malone back in the lineup, another forward will have to sit. Boucher said he had not yet decided who that will be. ... Gilroy said he originally was hurt in the Feb. 9 game with the Rangers when hit by a puck on his left hand. The biggest issue, he said, is gripping his stick. ... Bergeron said he has tried some electrical stimulation to jump-start the healing on his back injury, and he joked, "They wired me to TECO (Tampa Electric Company)."