NHL Injury News 2015: Lower Body Injury Sidelines Palat for 3-5 Weeks
The Tampa Bay Lightning is currently third in the Atlantic Division but has lost six of its last eight games. The team is still hanging on .500 with a 7-7-2 record, but the news that wing Ondrej Palat is out due to a lower body injury is certainly a big blow.
Hoping to make a push, it looks like the team will have to move on without Palat for at least three weeks. The team announced the news on Monday following the game in Minnesota where the alternate captain saw himself helped out and into the dressing room.
Palat got the injury when a Minnesota Wild player fell on what appears to be either his entire left leg or the ankle; he later complained about extreme pain.
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The injury really comes in a very inopportune time for the Lightning since Palat has been playing really well the past few games, particularly on the top line with Valtteri Filppula and Steven Stamkos. The 24-year-old is likewise an important part of the team at the penalty kill and power play.
Coach Jon Cooper admits there's a big role to fill for the remaining healthy players in the roster. "He's an extremely valuable player to our team, plays in all situations," he said about Palat's contributions to the team so far.
Tampa Bay's lineup and depth will certainly be challenged in the next couple of weeks, especially with the obvious fact that the winger's energy is unsurpassed by any other player in the roster. It is likely, though, that the team will have no choice but to do a "call up" from the AHL Syracuse to fill in the void. According to Joe Smith for Tampa Bay Times, Jonathan Marchessault is possibly the strongest candidate to be called up.
In the meantime, Jonathan Drouin takes the position on the top line, working with Stamkos and Filppula. By the way, Drouin himself is fresh from missing five games caused by a lower body injury.
