The Lightning announced Wednesday evening that captain Steven Stamkos is out indefinitely with a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee resulting from Tuesday’s game against the Red Wings.
“We are in the process of evaluating options for repair and rehabilitation and will release more information as it becomes available,” general manager Steve Yzerman said in a released statement.
The injury happened in the first period when Stamkos was fighting for the puck along the wall. After he goes down, it appears he’s favoring his right knee as he limps off the ice.
He didn’t return to the game. On Wednesday morning, the Lightning announced Stamkos was returning to Tampa, which wasn’t a good sign. Now, they’re weighing their options and proceeding from there. And so we wait. Which is hard to do.
Depending on the damage to meniscus, we are likely looking at a 4-6 week recovery if surgery is done for Stamkos, but we’ll wait and see
— Erik Erlendsson (@Erik_Erlendsson) November 16, 2016
Already without Jonathan Drouin and Anton Stralman, the Lightning have to trek on without captain, who missed time at the end of last season and throughout the playoffs due to a blood clot. Stamkos had two points before leaving Tuesday’s game that the Bolts eventually won. He’s currently second in the league in scoring, behind Mark Scheifele and Nikita Kucherov.
The Lightning are in Buffalo as they continue their road trip.
