Tampa Bay Lightning Injury Update: Ryan Callahan out indefinitely with Upper-Body Injury
Tampa Bay Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan is out indefinitely with an Upper-Injury after an unfortunate collision with the boards on Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes.
The Tampa Bay Lightning is no stranger to injuries. When you really think about it, they are a consistent part of the game in any kind of contact sport, professional or amateur. The unfortunate part of the deal is some teams (and players) are more affected by injuries than others.
The Lightning has been fairly unscathed this season when it comes to interactions with the injury bug. While there have been a fair amount of games missed this season due to injuries, the Lightning has been plagued much worse in past seasons.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the numbers will be increasing exponentially; especially after the Lightning’s encounter with the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night in Glendale. While things didn’t exactly look good for either team, it’s clear the Lightning got the worst of it.
Tampa Bay Lightning
There was seven minutes left in the third period, the Tampa Bay Lightning had a 4-1 lead over the Arizona Coyotes. This isn’t exactly a surprise given the Coyotes last-place standing in the National Hockey League at the moment. The Lightning already had a 41-23 shot advantage over the Coyotes, but the Bolts weren’t about to let up the pressure and give the Coyotes a chance at a comeback.
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman took possession of the puck in the defensive zone and sent it flying towards the other side of the ice. Lightning forward Chris Kunitz happened to get his stick on the puck and give it a bit of redirection on its way to the other side of the ice.
Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan saw the play heading his way and took off towards the Coyotes zone in the hopes of gaining control of the puck and sending it towards Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta and into the back of the net.
Unfortunately, after Callahan achieved the first part of his goal, something went terribly wrong.
Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson made it his sole purpose to keep Callahan from putting the puck in the back of the net. This led to Callahan and Ekman-Larsson getting tied up to the side of the net and crashing hard into the boards. The resounding thud was only the first indication something was wrong.
Seconds after the collision, Callahan could be seen rolling around of the ice clutching his right forearm. Cally quickly made it to his skates and off the ice, but it was incredibly clear he was in a great deal of pain. We are definitely no doctors here at Bolts By The Bay, but one could quickly assume he had broken a bone.
While there has been no official word from the team as to the nature of Callahan’s injury, one thing is crystal clear…he won’t be returning to the ice any time soon.
According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman said Ryan Callahan would miss 3-4 weeks with an Upper Body Injury. The upside here is Cally’s injury did not require surgery, which would’ve been a much longer turnaround.
Callahan missing 3-4 weeks is definitely not the news anyone wanted to hear, especially Ryan Callahan himself. Cally has been absolutely wrecked by injuries over the course of the last year. Callahan was forced to miss the back half of the 2016-17 season with a follow-up surgery on his right hip.
The Tampa Bay Lightning is going to be hard pressed to find a replacement for Callahan in the locker room. While the Lightning has plenty of forwards capable of holding things down on the ice, the leadership Callahan provides is not something so easily replaced.
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We here at Bolts By The Bay would like to wish Ryan Callahan a speedy recovery. Hopefully, there will not be any hiccups in his recovery and his timetable will remain at the 3-4 week mark. The sooner we can get Cally back on the ice doing what he does the best, the better the Tampa Bay Lightning will be for it