The Tampa Bay Lightning lost more than another game Saturday in Minnesota.
They lost forward Ondrej Palat for three-to-five weeks with a lower-body injury, the club announced Monday as Palat did not appear at practice.
“It’s obviously bad. It sucks to be injured, to not play, to not help the guys,” Palat told reporters Monday.
One of the best two-way wingers in the NHL limped off the ice during Saturday’s 1-0 loss after Wild forward Nino Niederreiter fell on his left leg during a skirmish in front of the Wild’s crease. His injury will not require surgery.
Watch the play here:
The 24-year-old Palat has seven points through 16 games this season, and his injury will be a significant blow to the defending Eastern Conference champs, considering the versatile Palat plays more than 18 minutes a game and is key to both the Lightning’s power play and penalty kill.
A dominant force in the East last season, Tampa now sits in third place in the Atlantic Division. Losing six of its last eight games, the club holds just a four-point cushion over seventh-place Buffalo.
The Sabres, who have two games in hand, travel to Tampa Tuesday to play the Bolts.
“He’s an extremely valuable player to our team,” coach Jon Cooper told reporters Monday. “Palat plays all the hard minutes and all the important minutes.
“He’s as honest a player as you’re going to find in this league.”