Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos will return for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, nearly seven months after suffering a core muscle injury.
"He's just another thing for a team to think about when he's out there," Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters Wednesday. "So whether that's on the power play or five-on-five, you get another player who, the puck gets on his stick in the offensive zone, it might go in the net."
Stamkos originally suffered the injury Feb. 25 and underwent surgery in March before adding a lower-body injury to the mix ahead of training camp in July.