TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning’s strong third period in a win over New Jersey was greatly overshadowed by the news that captain Steven Stamkos will miss one to three months due to a blood clot in his arm.
Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman announced the “bad news” after the Lightning beat the Devils 3-1 on Saturday night.
Yzerman said Stamkos has a type of vascular thoracic syndrome near his right collarbone.
“After Thursday’s game (against Montreal), Stammer went in to see the doctors,” Yzerman said. “He had some discomfort in his arm, some swelling, some tingling in his fingers. Yesterday morning, we had it assessed by doctors locally and it’s determined he has a blood clot in his arm.”
Yzerman said it will be a couple of weeks before it is known if Stamkos’ absence will be closer to one month or three. He added, however, that a full recovery is expected.