Head coach Jon Cooper said Friday that Vasilevskiy (undisclosed) could return to action Monday against the Panthers, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Vasilevskiy has missed the last five games due to his undisclosed injury, and he'll be unavailable for at least one more matchup Saturday against the Islanders. However, he practiced Friday and could be able to return from injured reserve as early as Monday. Over 19 appearances prior to his absence, he went 11-6-2 with a 2.31 GAA and .916 save percentage.

James (undisclosed) fully participated in Friday's practice, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times.

It remains to be seen if James will be in the lineup Saturday versus the Islanders, but at a minimum, he seems very close to returning. The 23-year-old has two goals and five points in 19 appearances this season. James should serve in a bottom-six capacity once he's ready.

O'Reilly scored a goal in Thursday's 7-2 win over the Blues.

Even though Steven Stamkos grabbed most of the praise following his four-goal performance, it's hard to overlook what O'Reilly has been doing of late. The 34-year-old veteran has cracked the scoresheet in six of the Predators' last eight games, tallying 10 points (four goals, six assists) in that span. He's up to 23 points on the season, and he should continue to see plenty of opportunities to rack up points as long as he remains on the first line skating alongside Stamkos and Luke Evangelista.

Finley was reassigned to AHL Syracuse on Friday.

Finley has a goal and an assist in 11 games with Tampa Bay this season. He wasn't in the lineup for the Lightning's past two games. The 23-year-old had 14 goals and 28 points across 40 regular-season appearances with Syracuse in 2024-25.

Hedman will undergo elbow surgery Monday and is expected to be out of action until the beginning of February, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports Friday.

Hedman missed 12 games with the injury and returned for three contests before the injury was deemed bad enough for surgery. Hedman is expected to be well enough to play for Team Sweden at the upcoming Olympic Games in February. Hedman has 12 assists in 18 games this season.

Forsberg scored a goal and took five shots in Thursday's 7-2 win over the Blues.

Forsberg has cracked the scoresheet in three games in a row and seems to be leaving his slump behind -- he was coming off an eight-game stretch in which he recorded just two points (one goal, one assist) between Nov. 16 and Dec. 4. Forsberg should continue to have plenty of opportunities to produce as long as he continues to maintain a top-six role in the lineup.

Stamkos scored four goals in Thursday's 7-2 win over the Blues.

Stamkos scored four goals in a single game for the second time in his career and also tied the franchise record for most goals in a single game. He's up to 594 career goals, good for 22nd best in league history, and he seems to be getting hot in recent weeks. Stamkos has scored in five of the Predators' last eight games, tallying eight goals, two assists, 25 shots and eight hits in that span.

Thomas scored a goal and took four shots in Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Predators.

Thomas has scored in back-to-back games for the first time this season, and the 26-year-old center continues to find ways to be productive. He's cracked the scoresheet in seven of the Blues' last nine games, tallying eight points (four goals, four assists), 14 shots and five blocked shots over that span.

Dowd scored a goal, added seven PIM, doled out five hits and blocked two shots in Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Hurricanes.

The goal was Dowd's first point in four games since he returned from missing eight contests due to an upper-body injury. The 35-year-old has returned to his usual bottom-six role, where he excels as a defensive specialist. He has six points, 25 shots on net, 39 hits, 14 blocked shots, 23 PIM and a plus-2 rating over 23 appearances. Dowd will likely fall short of the career-high 27 points he had in the 2024-25 regular season.

Johansson scored two goals in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Stars.

Johansson scored once in the 4-1 win over the Kraken on Monday, and he bested that effort with this two-goal effort Thursday. He seems to be getting things back on track after a seven-game stretch from Nov. 23 - Dec. 6 in which he didn't score a single goal while attempting only 10 shots on goal.