Tampa Bay Lightning Make Emergency Roster Changes Ahead of Possible Elimination in Game 5

Despite competing hard in the Battle of Florida thus far, the Tampa Bay Lightning are down 3-1 to their bitter rival in their first round series, and with Game 5 almost upon us, the Lightning will be fighting for their lives.

Ahead of that game that will take place in Tampa Bay, the Lightning have made a surprise roster move, recalling young defenseman Max Crozier from the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch.

It's highly unlikely that Crozier will play significant minutes in Game 5 if he plays at all, as it's more likely to be a depth move in case something happens throughout the rest of the series, but for the 25-year old, this will be an incredible experience.

Over the past two. years, Crozier has played in 18 games for the Lightning, tallying two assists and a -2 differential over that time, as it's safe to say that Tampa Bay likely don't have huge plans moving forward for the former fourth-round draft pick.

On the defensive side, the Lightning's top four is very solid, led by captain Victor Hedman and veterans Erik Cernak and Ryan McDonaugh, but with an inexperienced third pairing that hasn't been at their best in this series, don't be shocked to see a change here.

As of right now, all we know is that the Lightning are trying to fend off elimination in Game 5, so whether or not Crozier plays a part in that is yet to be seen, but given the way their bottom pairing has been playing, it may not be the worst move to insert Crozier into the lineup at home.