Steven Stamkos out at least 4 weeks after surgery for blood clot
Lightning forward to be re-evaluated in about 2 weeks
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos has had surgery to remove a blood clot from near his right collarbone and is expected to miss one to three months.
The two-hour procedure was performed Monday by Dr. Karl Illig in Tampa.
Illig said in a statement released by the team: "Everything went as expected for Steven. We plan to re-evaluate him in about two weeks and we should know more about his prognosis at that time."
Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman announced Saturday that Stamkos had tingling and swelling following a game Thursday and it was determined that he had vascular thoracic outlet syndrome.
Has Stamkos played his last game with the Tampa Bay Lightning? Vote here.
The Lightning need just one point Monday night against the New York Islanders to clinch a playoff spot,
Stamkos has 36 goals and 64 points in 77 games.
Once fans heard the news about Stamkos, they were quick to react:
<a href="https://twitter.com/hockeynight">@hockeynight</a> really feel for stamkos .. Broken leg a couple years ago now this .. Hope for the best for best goal scorer in NHL
—@benholdenpxp<a href="https://twitter.com/hockeynight">@hockeynight</a> Wow this is such a sad break for <a href="https://twitter.com/RealStamkos91">@RealStamkos91</a> Wishing you a speedy recovery and all the best
—@MichaelHSmith11