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Cernak (upper body) won't play against Detroit on Saturday, per Diandra Loux of The Hockey News.
Cernak will miss his second straight game, and he's questionable for Tuesday's matchup against Washington. He has registered seven assists, 20 shots on net, 24 blocked shots and 30 hits in 17 appearances this season.
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Lightning's Anthony Cirelli: Won't play Saturday
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Cirelli (lower body) is set to miss Saturday's game against Detroit, per Diandra Loux of The Hockey News.
Cirelli also missed Thursday's 3-1 win over Columbus. He has five goals and 14 points in 18 appearances this season. Head coach Jon Cooper is hoping to get Cirelli back for Tuesday's game against Washington.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Set to start Saturday
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Vasilevskiy is expected to protect the home net against Detroit on Saturday, per Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley.
Vasilevskiy is coming off a 28-save performance in Wednesday's 8-3 win over Buffalo. He has a 9-4-1 record, a 2.86 GAA and an .885 save percentage in 14 appearances this season. Detroit (7-10-3) ranks 27th in the league this campaign with 2.65 goals per game.
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Lightning's Ethan Gauthier: Pots pair in AHL loss
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Gauthier scored twice in AHL Syracuse's 3-2 overtime loss to Toronto on Friday.
Gauthier has three goals and three helpers over 13 AHL outings this season. He's on a pace similar to last year when he had 27 points in 56 regular-season contests. That won't be enough to get him up to the big club any time soon, so expect the 21-year-old to continue playing with the Crunch.
Lightning's Dennis Hildeby: Remains undefeated in regulation
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Hildeby made 28 saves in a 5-2 win over Columbus on Thursday.
Hildeby earned the game's third star for his performance. He remains undefeated in regulation (4-0-1), and he sports a 2.56 GAA and .899 save percentage. Both are better than league average. Hildeby is a solid play in dailies when he skates into the blue paint.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Six points in last two games
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Kucherov picked up two assists Thursday in a 3-1 win over Columbus.
Kucherov has six points (three goals, three assists), seven shots and a plus-6 rating in his last two games. Overall, the Hart Trophy winner is rising the NHL scoring list -- he now has 28 points in just 19 games. Kucherov is in a tie for seventh in both assists (20), points (28) and points-per-game (1.47).
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Ten points in last five games
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Guentzel scored a goal and added an assist in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
Guentzel has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) and 13 shots in his last five games. His 11 goals put him in a tie for 11th in the league in that category, and he is on pace for his first century mark in points. Guentzel has 11 goals, 13 assists, eight power-play points (three PPG), 51 shots and a plus-15 rating in 19 games this season.
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Lightning's Brandon Hagel: Among NHL's top snipers
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Hagel scored twice and had an assist in Thursday's 3-1 win over Columbus.
Hagel extended his goal and point streak to three games and seven points (five goals, two assists); he has 14 shots and a plus-8 rating in that span. Overall, Hagel's 13 goals this season put him sixth overall in the NHL. He has more goals than Auston Matthews (12), Tage Thompson (12), Cole Caufield (12) and Connor McDavid (11). The sniping doesn't seem to be a mirage. Hagel's 17.1 shooting rate is only marginally higher than last season's 16.8; he scored a career-high 36 goals in 2025-26.
Cirelli will miss Thursday's game versus the Blue Jackets, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports. Per the Lightning, Cirelli is dealing with a lower-body injury.
Cirelli got banged up Wednesday versus the Sabres, and he'll need to miss at least one game. His absence further depletes the Lightning's center depth, which is already thin due to Brayden Point's undisclosed injury. Sam O'Reilly will handle a larger role Thursday, while Gage Goncalves should be back in the lineup after a healthy scratch.
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Lightning's Dennis Hildeby: Defending road crease Thursday
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Hildeby will start Thursday's road game against Columbus, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.
Hildeby has started just once in the Lightning's last seven games, but he'll draw the start in the second half of a back-to-back set Thursday. Across his four appearances to begin the regular season, he's gone 3-0-1 with a 2.95 GAA and .880 save percentage.
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Lightning's Sam O'Reilly: Pockets helper in debut
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O'Reilly notched an assist, two hits and a plus-2 rating in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Sabres.
O'Reilly was immediately placed in a second-line role and on the first power-play unit, essentially taking over the spot vacated by Brayden Point (undisclosed). Wednesday was O'Reilly's NHL debut, so there could be some growing pains, but the Lightning never rush a prospect before they're ready. Expect O'Reilly to get a fair shake in a top-six role over the rest of November, which makes him an intriguing speculative option for fantasy.
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Lightning's Scott Sabourin: Finds twine in win
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Sabourin scored a goal and added three hits in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Sabres.
Sabourin has played in a part-time role this season, serving as a rotational option on the fourth line. He's been in the lineup for four of the last eight contests as the Lightning have started to dress 12 forwards more regularly. Sabourin has two points, three shots on net, 17 hits, 12 PIM and a plus-2 rating over five appearances. Given his limited usage even when he plays, he's a risky option for most fantasy formats.
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Lightning's Yanni Gourde: Tallies in Wednesday's blowout win
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Gourde scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Sabres.
Gourde's offseason hip surgery was initially expected to keep him out until December, but he returned well in advance of that projection. He's now played in two contests, taking up a spot in the Lightning's middle six, and his goal Wednesday was his first of the campaign. He's also produced three shots on net and five hits. Gourde can fill a pest role -- he's topped 100 hits and 50 PIM in each of the last four years. His offense is in decline though, as he was limited to 28 points in 82 regular-season outings last year.
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Lightning's Brandon Hagel: Lighhts lamp twice in big win
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Hagel scored two goals and added an assist in Wednesday's 8-3 rout of the Sabres.
After giving Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead early in the second period, Hagel did the rest of his damage in the third, setting up Nikita Kucherov for the first tally in his natural hat trick before potting the final goal of the game himself. It was Hagel's third multi-goal performance of the season, and through 18 games he's delivered 11 goals and 21 points as he looks to reach the 90point mark for the second time in his career.
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Lightning's Jake Guentzel: Racks up four assists against Sabres
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Guentzel pocketed four assists, two on the power play, in Wednesday's 8-3 rout of Buffalo.
The veteran winger had at least one helper in each period, and he helped set up Scott Sabourin's first goal of the campaign in the first frame, as well as the final of Nikita Kucherov's natural hat trick in the third. The four-point effort was Guentzel's best single-game performance since Nov. 4, 2023, when he was still a member of the Penguins. Through 18 contests this season with the Lightning, he's piled up 10 goals and 22 points in 18 contests, a pace that would see him reach the 100-point plateau for the first time.
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Lightning's Anthony Cirelli: Three helpers in Buffalo
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Cirelli notched three assists in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Sabres.
The veteran center had a hand in two tallies by Brandon Hagel and one by Nikita Kucherov in the rout. It's Cirelli's second three-point performance of the season, and through 18 games he's delivered five goals and 14 points, a pace that would see him top the career-high 59 points (27 goals, 32 assists) in 80 games he produced in 2024-25.
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Lightning's John Carlson: Erupts for career-best five points in rout
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Carlson scored a power-play goal and added four assists, one of them with the man advantage, in Wednesday's 8-3 win over Buffalo.
The veteran blueliner gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead in the final minute of the first period, completing a tic-tac-toe passing play, and he had a hand in a Brandon Hagel tally early in the second, but Carlson's big night didn't really get rolling until the final frame when he helped set up all three goals in Nikita Kucherov's natural hat trick. The five points were a single-game career high for Carlson, and on the season he's collected six goals and 15 points in 18 contests to begin his first campaign in Tampa Bay.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Natural hat trick in big win Wednesday
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Kucherov scored three goals, one on the power play, and added an assist in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Sabres.
All of Kucherov's points came in the third period, including a natural hat trick, as he blew the game open after Buffalo had closed to within a goal. It was the superstar winger's first hattie of the season and the eighth of his career, and his late October trade request hasn't seemed to impact his focus on the ice. In six games since the request became public, Kucherov has racked up four goals and 11 points.
