The Tampa Bay Lightning are just six points back of Toronto for eighth in the East, but they’ll have to play catch-up without their captain.
Vincent Lecavalier will miss tonight’s game against Anaheim and will be out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. Lightning coach Guy Boucher said the injury “popped up” during practice and an MRI was unable to show what might be wrong. The Lightning say that there is no timetable for when Lecavalier might return.
Lecavalier’s had a strong season for Tampa Bay to this point alongside Steve Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. Those three have carried the Lightning offense yet again this year without a ton of help. Now going without Lecavalier the pressure mounts on Stamkos and St. Louis as well as contributors like Teddy Purcell and Steve Downie to step up their games with him out.
