Anton Stralman will be out indefinitely after suffering a non-displaced fracture of his left fibula against the New York Islanders.
The Tampa Bay Lightning might have won 7-4 against the New York Islanders, but it came at a very huge cost. In the first period, Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman got tangled with his goaltender, Ben Bishop, and Islanders forward Anders Lee. This caused his leg to be bent at a very awkward angle as he fell over.
It was as awful as it sounds because the Lightning have announced that Stralman is out indefinitely with a non-displaced fracture of his left fibula.
A video of the incident is below. Fair warning: a human leg gets bent in a way that it should never get bent and it’s a little gruesome to look at.
Losing Stralman could be devastating for the Lightning, as he is an extremely important member of their team. Tampa Bay likely doesn’t have the defensive depth needed to replace their first pairing defenseman. Stralman was a perfect complement to Victor Hedman’s aggressive playing style with Stralman serving as the safe member of the duo, allowing Hedman to jump up in plays and create offense.
Anton Stralman has 34 points in 72 games this season. Expect Andrej Sustr or Braydon Coburn to replace him on the first pairing.
For more NHL news and highlights, be sure to check out our NHL hub page.