One third of the Triplets will be out for a while.
Ondrej Palat, fifth on the Lightning in scoring with seven points through 16 games, will miss the next 3-5 weeks of action with a lower-body injury, the club announced on Monday.
Palat was hurt during a loss to Minnesota over the weekend, after getting tangled with Wild forward Nino Niederreiter during a net-front battle. Palat finished with just 11 shifts for 8:35 of ice time.
The loss is a tough one for Tampa Bay, a team that’s surprisingly struggled to score goals this season. The top-ranked offense from a year ago sits middle of the pack in goals for this season, and was shutout by Minnesota over the weekend.
Though Palat has been split from Triplet linemates Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson at times this season, he’s still one of the team’s best offensive producers.
The 24-year-old scored a career-high 63 points last season, and led the Lightning in assists, with 47.
As for Palat’s replacement, Tampa Bay has yet to recall a forward. Jonathan Drouin returned from injury to face the Wild over the weekend, while Erik Condra was scratched from the lineup.