Lightning Defenseman Out Indefinitely

The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that Ryan McDonagh will be out indefinitely due to an upper-body injury.

With the playoffs just around the corner, it certainly isn't ideal for the Lightning to lose McDonagh for an indefinite amount of time. The 32-year-old is a very important part of their blueline, as he not only provides them with strong reliability but also great leadership. 

In 60 games this campaign, McDonagh has three goals, 18 assists, and a plus-7 rating. Thus, he also has provided decent offense from the backend, so he certainly isn't an easy player to replace for more than one reason.

Here's to hoping the long NHL defenseman will be ready to go by the postseason. If not, that will be a major blow for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. 

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