The Tampa Bay Lightning aren't the only NHL team to be hit hard by injuries this season, but the Injury Bug keeps coming back to them and won't leave them alone. After receiving encouraging news about Victor Hedman early yesterday, it was released that Lightning forward Dana Tyrell will be missing the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury on his right knee.
Tyrell injured his knee against the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 15, twisting his knee after getting tangled up with an opposing player. He attempted to continue playing in the game, but after having the medical team examine it, they decided his knee needed further evaluation.
While Tyrell has only been logging about 10 minutes of ice time per game, he's not an easy player to replace. He is one of the Bolts' few defensive-minded forwards -- he's only started 35% of his faceoffs in the offensive zone -- and the Bolts think enough about him that they recently signed him to a two-year contract extension. He's a young player (22 years old), so GM Steve Yzerman seems to believe he can be a solid role player with the Bolts going forward.
To replace Tyrell, Evan Oberg and Mike Angelidis have been called up from the Norfolk Admirals and are expected to see more playing time in the coming weeks.
For more on how this injury affects the Bolts, drop by SB Nation's blog on the Lightning, Raw Charge.