Tampa Bay Lightning winger Martin St. Louis left Thursday morning's practice after sustaining a cut to the face, reports Mike Hopey of The Bolts Independent. "St. Louis was circling around the net when an errant backhand shot from teammate Dominic Moore struck the alternate captain in the face," Hopey writes. Trainers had to help St. Louis off the ice.
The Lightning, who have lost five straight games to drop to fourth place in the Southeast Division, are set to take on the New York Rangers on Thursday night, the third game of their four-game, six-day road trip.
St. Louis has appeared in 499 consecutive games, a streak which may end Thursday evening if he hasn't recovered sufficiently from the blow to the face. He ranks No. 2 on the Lightning in points (22) this season.
As Hopey points out, Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said last season he wanted to require all of his players to wear visors as a precaution, but the players opposed the move; St. Louis does not wear a visor.
For more Lightning coverage, please visit Raw Charge, SB Nation's Lightning blog.