The Tampa Bay Lightning received some tough news on Thursday as it was learned captain Vincent Lecavalier would be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Lecavalier, 32, suffered the injury during Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Florida.
Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune reports Lecavalier was knocked down late in the contest and went to the bench in discomfort -- of note, he only had three shifts in the final nine minutes with Tampa nursing a one-goal lead.
Erlendsson also notes the club expects the captain to go on injured reserve.
While his team has struggled this season, Lecavalier has enjoyed a good year in terms of production.
He’s notched 7G-15A-22PTS in 26 games while averaging close to 19 minutes a night and, in January, played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming just the fifth first overall pick to play 1,000 games with the team that originally drafted him.
UPDATE: According to Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times, Bolts head coach Guy Boucher said Lecavalier will be out longer than the minimum seven-day IR stint.
UPDATE 2: The Lightning have called up Tyler Johnson from AHL Syracuse.
