Lightning’s Oliver Bjorkstrand will miss first round playoff series

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand for the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper confirmed Saturday per Diandra Loux of The Hockey News.

Bjorkstrand remains sidelined with a lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for the Lightning’s final three regular-season games. Through 79 appearances this season, the 30-year-old Danish-born forward has put up 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points, including nine points in 18 games since his acquisition by the Lightning in early March.

A veteran of 624 career contests counting stops with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Seattle Kraken, and Lightning, Bjorkstrand has collected 172 goals and 212 assists for 384 career points. On two occasions, he has cracked the 50-point plateau, including a career-high 59-point showing counting 20 goals and 39 assists coming with the Kraken last season. The veteran forward has also added 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points through 45 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Bjorkstrand was originally chosen by the Blue Jackets in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft.

Per PuckPedia, Bjorkstrand is in the fourth year of a five-year contract that carries a $5.4-million annual average value.

For the Lightning, the club is preparing for its opening-round series against its state rival and the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. The two sides faced off four times in the regular season, each taking two regulation wins. This spring marks the fourth time the Panthers and Lightning have met up in the postseason. In 2021, the Lightning defeated the Panthers in a six-game opening-round set, while the following year the Lightning swept the Panthers in the second round. Last year, the Panthers eliminated the Lightning in the first round in a five-game series.

Game 1 between the Lightning and Panthers comes Tuesday.