from Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times,

Stamkos will have an X-ray when the team returns to Tampa after Tuesday's game at Minnesota. There will be discussions with Lightning doctors, Tampa Bay and Team Canada general manager Steve Yzerman and executives from Hockey Canada.

Stamkos has said he wants to play in one or both of the Lightning's home games leading up to the Olympics. But he also said not playing Thursday against the Maple Leafs or Saturday against the Red Wings would not preclude him from going to Sochi.

Here is what could:

"I don't feel I'm where I need to be in order to play in a game yet," Stamkos said Friday, his last meeting with reporters. "You have to listen to your body. It has gotten better, and there's less and less pain every time I get on the ice. But there's still discomfort."

Stamkos, who had a titanium rod inserted in the tibia, said he hopes the pain will at least become "manageable."

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