Advertisement

Anthony Mantha suffers fractured finger in fight with Luke Witkowski (Video)

Josh Cooper
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Luke Witkowski, right, and Detroit Red Wings right wing Anthony Mantha (39) fight during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 30, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Luke Witkowski, right, and Detroit Red Wings right wing Anthony Mantha (39) fight during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 30, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo)

Detroit Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha will likely miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering a fractured finger in a fight with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Luke Witkowski on Thursday, Detroit GM Ken Holland told reporters.

The tussle happened at the 3:47 mark of the first period after a save by Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Witkowski landed several punches on the 22-year-old Mantha before pushing him to the ice.

[Follow Puck Daddy on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

The 6-foot-5, 214-pound Mantha had taken a step forward in his development this season with 17 goals and 36 points in 59 games played. A year ago, Mantha – a 2013 first-round draft pick – had two goals and one assist in 10 games with Detroit.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

On Tuesday, the Red Wings were eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 1990, so Mantha didn’t have a lot of games left anyway. Still, it’s always tough to lose a top player to injury at any point in the year for any team.

– – – – – – –

Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS