Lightning’s Anthony Cirelli returns to lineup after hit to the head

NEWARK, N.J. — Lightning center Anthony Cirelli returned to the Lightning lineup Tuesday night after he was knocked out of Sunday’s loss to Winnipeg by an illegal hit to the head.

In the second period of that 3-2 loss to the Jets, Cirelli turned around to pursue a puck when Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele’s left elbow ran into Cirelli’s head, knocking him to the ground. Cirelli left the ice under his own power, but he missed the final 5:40 of the second period and the entire third. The hit came after Cirelli scored a shorthanded goal to cut the Winnipeg lead to one.

The Lightning were without captain Steven Stamkos, who is listed day-to-day with a lower body injury. In pregame warmups, Cirelli skated on the team’s second line with Nick Paul and Alex Killorn.

Cirelli was a full participant in the Lightning’s morning skate at the Prudential Center on Tuesday morning. The skate was optional for players to report, and because only 11 players skated, it didn’t run like a normal pregame skate, but Cirelli appeared to participate in all the drills.

The Lightning have had a recent string of injuries to key players. In addition to Cirelli and Stamkos, defenseman Victor Hedman missed two games last week with an apparent lower back injury.

Center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare had been scratched for four straight games with a lower body injury and five of the last six, but returned to the lineup on Tuesday as the team’s fourth-line center.

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