RALEIGH, N.C. — For the past two days, Lightning C Tyler Johnson appeared unsure if he'd play Tuesday night.
Johnson, 24, had pulled out of Sunday's All-Star Game due to a lingering lower-body injury. He participated in Monday's practice and Tuesday's morning skate, but said not to read too much into it — he'd be a game-time decision.
But it wasn't a surprise to see Johnson in the lineup against the Hurricanes.
"He's a pretty tough kid," coach Jon Cooper said. "He finds a way."
Johnson, who played through a broken foot the second half of last season, acknowledges there's a balance between fighting through a nagging injury or making it worse.
"I think that's the mentality all the time, is knowing what your limitations are, what you can do," Johnson said. "Knowing your body a little bit, trying to figure things out, if you can play through it or if it's smart to sit out a game."
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Hurricanes coach Bill Peters, who coached Johnson in juniors in Spokane, said that second line — with Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov— is a tough matchup.
"They're dynamic, all three of them," Peters said. "Very good hockey sense. The hold onto the puck, make good plays. They don't just center blind. They're making good strong plays. They can all skate with good hockey IQ, so it's a good line for sure."
The second line has sometimes drawn opponent's top defensive pairings, alternating with captain Steven Stamkos' top line.
"You pick your poison," Peters said. "Both are very good. You look at the plus-minus of the Johnson line, they're good in all three zones."
FAMILIAR FACE: RW J.T. Brown hung out with his former University of Minnesota-Duluth teammate Justin Faulk, the Hurricanes 'All-Star defenseman, Monday night, catching the North Carolina-Syracuse basketball game in Chapel Hill.
In a previous trip to Tampa, Faulk and Brown went to see LeBron James play in Orlando. "We used to live together over the summers," Faulk said. "We talk quite a bit too, work out together in the summers."
WELCOME BACK: C Cedric Paquette caught many by surprise when he scored five goals in his first nine games this season after a late October call-up.
The gritty center then went 29 games without one, until scoring Tuesday for his first goal since Nov. 15.
BREAK TIME: The Lightning had an array of vacations over the All-Star break. D Anton Stralman and D Luke Witkowski went to Disney World, C Brian Boyle headed to Sarasota. G Ben Bishop spent time with his grandparents in West Palm Beach. LW Brenden Morrow went to Mexico with friends, including former Stars teammate Brett Hull. D Nikita Nesterov stayed in Tampa and visited the dentist, having been hit in the lip by a shot.
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Explore all your optionsICE CHIPS: Bishop made his fifth straight start. … Brown and D Luke Witkowski were scratched. RW Jonathan Drouin was on the second power-play unit and played with C Cedric Paquette and LW Alex Killorn on the third line.
Contact Joe Smith at joesmith@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_JSmith.