It's been almost seven months to the day since Steven Stamkos played an NHL game. That's 212 days since he stickhandled through defenses and shot the puck on another team's goalie.
On Wednesday night, the Lightning's captain returned to the lineup with the kind of flourish typical of his superstar status.
Less than 90 seconds after Nikita Kucherov gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead, Stamkos scored on his first shot to give his squad a 2-0 advantage. Skating through the neutral zone, he avoided the check by Esa Lindell at the Stars bench, glided into the right circle and went top corner past netminder Anton Khudobin. There was little apparent rust in that maneuver despite his time out of the lineup.
The Lightning used his score to help claim a crucial 5-2 win in Game 3 of a tight Stanley Cup Final. They're up in the series 2-1.
"It was just an amazing experience to share with my teammates," Stamkos said postgame. "There's been a lot of hard work and different things going on behind the scenes, so just to be able to get out into a game and have an impact on a game, which a month ago may have never been possible. So, it was amazing to be a part of a huge win for us."
🚨 STEVEN STAMKOS
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2-0 #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/9fkME2fLYD
In the first period, Stamkos skated 2:47, all at even strength, on the fourth line with Pat Maroon and Cedric Paquette. The goal was his first since Feb. 20 against the Golden Knights when he potted two.
"He's worked extremely hard to get back to a spot where he could play and just seeing him day in, day out, the positivity he brings even when he's not playing, it's been huge for us," said Brayden Point. "So, for us to see him work that hard to get back in the lineup and then score one, just, it' pretty inspirational for our bench."
Stamkos did not immediately return to the Lightning's bench for the middle frame. He did eventually emerge from the locker room with just over 12 minutes left in the period and took a few spins on the ice during a commercial break; however, he did not play a shift in the second or third periods as the Lightning went on to win 5-2 and take a 2-1 series lead.
"I wanted to play as much as I could, it's just, obviously there's an issue that I've been working through so, we'll see what happens from here," said Stamkos, not eluding to what the issue was that he's been dealing with or what led to him missing the rest of the game. "I was just extremely happy to be out there with these guys and have a chance to just be on the bench and contribute to a win. We got a lot more hockey left in this series, so we're kind of focusing on the next game."
Stamkos said "it was too early" to say if he would be able to play in Game 4 on Friday, or in the remainder of the series.
Before Wednesday night, he hadn't laced up the skates and pulled over his jersey with the "C" since Feb. 25 against the Maple Leafs when he scored an assist and extended his point streak to 15 games (12 goals, 10 assists).
On March 2 he had surgery to repair a core muscle injury and was expected to miss six to eight weeks. Despite not partaking in bubble hockey until Game 3, he had been with the team and was on the ice when the Lightning was handed the Prince of Wales Trophy as the 2020 Eastern Conference champions.
After Wednesday's morning skate, which it didn't look like Stamkos had participated in per the video the NHL posts, head coach Jon Cooper said, when asked about his availability and what he would bring to the lineup if he plays: "He's inching closer. He's a threat. He's just another thing for a team to think about when he's out there, whether that's on the power play or 5-on-5, you get another player that when the puck gets on his stick in the offensive zone it might go in the net especially in a game or series where goals are at a premium.
"So if he comes back, his timing, there's a lot of things that have to go into this beforehand but he's getting closer."
Well, hours later he was so close he was on the ice partaking in warmups and then the game.
During the 2019-20 truncated season, he posted 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) in 57 games and entering Game 3, had 23 goals and 30 assists — including 18 points when the Lightning last played in the Stanley Cup Final back in 201 — in 70 career playoff games.