(Tampa) Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos has been given the green light to return to action, while star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy continues his rehabilitation and is expected to be ready to play by the end of November or the beginning of December.

Stamkos took part in the morning warm-up session and should be in uniform Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks, head coach Jon Cooper said. Stamkos missed two games with a lower body injury.

Stamkos entered Thursday ranked 40th among NHL scorers in history, with 517 goals.

For his part, Vasilevskiy underwent an endoscopic microdiscectomy to remove a herniated lumbar disc three weeks ago.

“The timelines are the same,” Cooper said. He is a workaholic in his preparation, and in the way he maintains his body. It is therefore sometimes necessary to hold it back, in order to allow the body to recover. Everything is going according to plan. »

Vasilevskiy won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s MVP in 2019 as well as the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in 2021.