Whatever playoff hopes the Tampa Bay Lightning have clung to recently evaporated in one period on Thursday when forwards Tyler Johnson and Vladislav Namestnikov both limped off the ice with knee injuries.
Lightning lose Tyler Johnson and Vladislav Namestnikov to knee injuries in one period
They can’t catch a break.
Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Neither looked good.
The first came early in the second period when Namestnikov got tangled up with Zach Parise as both tripped and slid into the boards. Namestnikov tried to get up, but his leg was trapped under Parise and, well ...
Namestnikov needed help from two teammates, unable to put any weight on his affected leg.
A few minutes later, Johnson tried to evade a check from Wild winger Nino Niederreiter along the wall. But Niederreiter made a last-second course correction to finish the check, resulting in a knee-on-knee hit.
The Lightning are now down to nine forwards for the remainder of the game. Since making the Stanley Cup Finals two years ago, the Lightning have been besieged by injuries to their best players during the regular season.
Steven Stamkos has missed most of the regular season for the second straight campaign, and few of Tampa’s best players have been on the ice at the same time for long stretches. It’s a big reason why the team is projected to miss the playoffs.
Tyler Johnson is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
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