TAMPA — The Lightning announced their roster Wednesday afternoon for tonight’s season opener against the Blackhawks.Surprising to none, the roster does not include veteran forward Tyler Johnson nor veteran defenseman Luke Schenn, both of whom are on the taxi squad tonight so that the Lightning can remain salary cap compliant .The taxi squad roster also includes forward Gemel Smith and goaltender Chris Gibson. With the exception of Gibson, the other three taxi squad members participated in the morning skate session with the rest of the team.One noticeable exemption from the roster was Lightning defenseman Ben Thomas. He passed through waivers unclaimed and skated with the team Tuesday.Also on Tuesday, forward Boo Nieves signed a one-year, two-way contract with the club and is included on the opening night roster alongside defenseman Andreas Borgman, who skated with the team this morning. Forwards: Anthony Cirelli, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Mathieu Joseph, Alex Killorn, Pat Maroon, Boo Nieves, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, Mitchell Stephens and Alexander Volkov Defensemen: Andreas Borgman, Erik Cernak, Cal Foote, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Jan Rutta and Mikhail Sergachev Goaltenders: Curtis McElhinney and Andrei VasilevskiyPalat-Point-StamkosKillorn-Cirelli-JosephColeman-Gourde-GoodrowMaroon-Stephens-VolkovHedman-RuttaMcDonagh-FooteSergachev-Cernakvs. Blackhawks, 8 p.m. at Amalie ArenaTV: NBC Sports. Radio: 970-AM Contact Mari Faiello at mfaiello@tampabay.com . Follow @faiello_mari .
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