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Jason Garrison injury hurts, and Tyler Johnson sits out too

 
Lightning center Tyler Johnson competes against the Sabres at Amalie Arena on Jan. 9. [DIRK SHADD   |   Times]
Lightning center Tyler Johnson competes against the Sabres at Amalie Arena on Jan. 9. [DIRK SHADD | Times]
Published March 31, 2015

MONTREAL — The Lightning blueline received another big blow Monday as veteran D Jason Garrison will be out 3-4 weeks with an upper-body injury.

That means Garrison, who got hurt early in Saturday's game against Detroit, could miss part or all of the first round of the playoffs.

But that's not all.

All-Star C Tyler Johnson sat out Monday's game against Montreal — and is day to day — with an upper body injury, and D Andrej Sustr is out 1-2 weeks with an upper body injury. C Cedric Paquette, who looked to suffer a serious left leg injury Saturday, played Monday.

"He's got the nickname 'Dumptruck' for a reason," coach Jon Cooper said. "He's solid."

Every team deals with injuries, but this is awful timing for Tampa Bay, which entered Monday three points behind the Canadiens for the Atlantic Division lead.

"It's unfortunate, because we don't necessarily get to put our best foot forward," Cooper said. "But it's a challenge, and sometimes you want to see if your team responds to something like this. Are we going to come in and kick the can and walk around with our head down? Or are we going to come in and battle, we'll see what happens. We'll see."

The loss of Garrison especially hurts. He had been playing arguably the best of his career, a stabilizing and calming force, his plus-27 fifth in the league. But now, the Lightning is without both Garrison and deadline acquisition D Braydon Coburn (lower body), giving the once-seasoned blueline a greener feel. Rookies Luke Witkowski and Nikita Nesterov will likely have to play larger roles.

"They're our depth defensemen, they're prospects," Cooper said. "Are they ready for the NHL? Hard to say. But they're in the NHL now. They've been with us before, they know our system, know how to play. We're not expecting them to be Bobby Orr, expect them to move the puck to our forwards and defend, and they've done that. Are they going to make mistakes? Sure they are. But you've got to get games at some point and now is their turn. They have to step up."

Rock solid: Paquette was also surprised he wasn't hurt more severely Saturday when his left leg awkwardly wrapped around the post. He tossed his gloves off in frustration and had to be helped off the ice.

"I couldn't feel my legs pretty much," Paquette said. "It was scary."

But after a few minutes, he felt better. He doesn't regret nearly getting hurt thwarting a potentially meaningless empty-net goal in a 4-0 loss.

"I won't change my game," he said. "I work my (butt) off every time I'm on the ice, same thing if it's 2-0 or 2-1."

Ice chips: C Steven Stamkos played right wing with LW Alex Killorn and C Valtteri Filppula, and C Vladislav Namestnikov took Johnson's spot on the "Triplets" line. C Jonathan Marchessault, called up on emergency basis in case Paquette couldn't play, was returned to AHL Syracuse. … Killorn (Harvard) owes Sustr (Nebraska-Omaha) dinner over a bet made over the NCAA matchup.

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Contact Joe Smith at joesmith@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_JSmith.