It wasn't an ideal start to the Battle of Florida for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Not only did they find themselves on the wrong side of a blowout against the Florida Panthers in Game 1 on Tuesday, but they also have to worry about the status of one of their top forwards.
Centre Anthony Cirelli did not return for the third period of Game 1 after getting banged up in the second.
The 27-year-old forward appeared to suffer the injury early in the second when he delivered a hit in the offensive zone. He headed straight to the team's dressing room but returned to the ice later in the period.
Cirelli played just 6:21 in the game and finished as a minus-2.
The Etobicoke, Ont., native recorded 27 goals and 32 assists in 80 games for the Lightning this season.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.