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Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier left Monday's practice early and is now listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
According to Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman, Vincent Lecavalier will miss tomorrow’s game after sustaining and upper-body injury in Saturday’s game against the Washington Capitals.
Since Lecavalier will be out of the lineup, the Lightning have recalled Trevor Smith from the Norfolk Admirals to play in the captains absence.
Per the team, Vincent Lecavalier sustained an upper-body injury during Saturday’s game against the Washington Capitals, although the center did not miss any time in that game. Lecavalier had unspecified tests done after today’s practice and those results have not been released as of yet.
Right when it looked like the injury bug left the Tampa Bay Lightning, it looked like it crept back up again. In Monday's morning practice, Vincent Lecavalier left the ice and did not return, supposedly sustaining what looks to be an upper-body injury.
Whether Lecavalier got injured during the morning skate or previously is yet to be determined. There were rumors that he could have testing done today, however that has not been confirmed.
After playing over 50 games already this season, it is not out of the question for some players to cut their practices or morning skates short for body maintenance. However, when Lecavalier did not return to practice on Monday, some eyebrows were raised.
Lecavalier has 10 goals and 27 points in his last 30 games and if the Lightning loses him for any amount of time, it is a blow as the team is trying to crawl back into the playoff picture. Through 58 games, Lecavalier has tallied 46 points and Tampa Bay's offense will look dramatically different if the captain is not in the lineup.
The center has not commented on the matter up until this point and whether he will play against the Anaheim Ducks is up in the air. Right now, he is said to have an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
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Vincent Lecavalier Injury Update: Lightning Captain To Miss 3-6 Weeks With Fracture
The Tampa Bay Lightning have a rather depleted roster at the moment. They traded away three players recently -- Pavel Kubina, Dominic Moore, and Steve Downie -- and while that has put them in a good position for the future, it means their current roster is being held together with duct tape and AHL promotions. To make matters more difficult, team captain Vincent Lecavalier is out with a fractured bone in his right hand, and is expected to miss 3-6 weeks while he recovers.
The good news is that Lecavalier will not require surgery, and that his hand merely needs to be given enough time to heal. GM Steve Yzerman admitted yesterday that it's possible Lecavalier could be back as soon as in three weeks, although he cautioned against being too optimistic:
In the meantime, the Lightning will have to do the best they can with their limited depth. It could be a bumpy couple of weeks.
For more on the Lightning, check out SB Nation's blog on the Bolts, Raw Charge.
Feb 23 10:29a by Steve Slowinski