Shortly before their game against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that Steven Stamkos would not be suiting up as he is dealing with a lower-body injury.
Stamkos played 18:11 last night against the Detroit Red Wings, scoring twice and adding an assist. However, shortly after he scored his second goal, he appeared to be in discomfort as he briefly headed down the tunnel behind the bench to stretch something out. He returned to the game and took seven shifts in the third period, including a 1:43 shift at the end of the game, but he didn’t look comfortable on the ice.
The Captain has been quite durable over the last two seasons, playing in a total of 162 while putting up 190 points. He joins Tyler Motte and Andrei Vasilevskiy as part of the injury brigade for the Lightning. With his absence it appears that both Austin Watson and Alex Barre-Boulet will be making their season debuts.
