The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to finish Wednesday's game against the Detroit Red Wings with five defencemen.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson exited the game early in the first period after just 1:50 of ice time. After heading straight to the locker room, he was ruled out for the remainder of the game at the beginning of the second period with a lower-body injury.
The Swedish defenceman appeared to suffer the injury on an awkward fall in the Red Wings' zone. Pinching in from the blue line, he went down after winning a puck battle against Detroit's Lucas Raymond.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube didn't have much of an update on Ekman-Larsson's status after the game and just said that they will "know more tomorrow."
It's a big blow for the Maple Leafs, as the 34-year-old has been one of the Leafs' most consistent blue-liners this season. Ekman-Larsson entered Wednesday's game with eight goals and 23 assists in 49 games.
His stellar play saw him named to Sweden's initial roster for the Winter Olympics.
But depending on the severity of Ekman-Larsson's injury, it could potentially be another blow to an already banged-up Swedish squad.
Team head coach Sam Hallam said Tuesday that he does not expect Jonas Brodin and Leo Carlsson to be available for the tournament in February.
Meanwhile, several other players on Sweden's roster are currently injured: defencemen Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins), and forwards Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche), Joel Eriksson Ek (Wild) and William Nylander (Maple Leafs).
The NHL Olympic break begins Feb. 6, and Sweden is scheduled to play its first game against Italy on Feb. 11.
