Lightning's Anton Stralman: Coach "optimistic" of return for Thursday

Lightning coach Jon Cooper is "optimistic" Stralman (upper body) will play Thursday against St. Louis, Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Analysis:

The Bolts moved Stralman to IR on Wednesday in an administrative move, but the defender is available to come off Thursday. He's been out of action for a couple weeks, and the Lightning have been struggling to keep the puck out of their net, so the defensive reinforcement should be quite welcome.