Vladislav Namestnikov: Will play Sunday

Namestnikov (illness) will join his teammates in game action Sunday against the Blues, Erik Erlendsson of The Tampa Tribune reports.

Analysis:

Namestnikov's availability was threatened by an illness that popped up prior to Saturday's practice, but his presence at morning skate Sunday foreshadowed the same outcome for the evening's game. An important piece on the top line alongside Ondrej Palat and Steven Stamkos, the Lightning will be able to deploy the normal groupings for the contest, but it may be difficult to get many pucks behind red-hot Blues netminder Brian Elliott (though he did stumble in his last outing).