The Tampa Bay Lightning just have to hope that this isn’t a sign of the kind of season this will be for them.
They’ve already lost goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy for two-to-three months after having a blood clot removed and now one of the top candidates to fill that void, Kristers Gudlevskis, is hurt as well, per the Tampa Bay Times.
Gudlevskis sustained the injury while playing in a prospects game on Tuesday. He was able to leave the game without assistance, but did not return. After the contest Tampa Bay stated that he had an upper-body injury and would be re-evaluated on Wednesday, according to the Times’ Joe Smith.
So this injury might still prove to be minor, but if it’s not then that would drastically increase the chances of 32-year-old (33 on Sept. 28) Ray Emery making the team after being given a professional tryout offer.
In either scenario, Ben Bishop will enter the season as the team’s starting goaltender, barring yet another injury.