Steven Stamkos out indefinitely with lateral meniscus tear

The Tampa Bay Lightning could have really gone without this news.

A day after Steven Stamkos left a game against the Detroit Red Wings with a lower-body injury, word comes out that the Lightning captain suffered a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.

With the Lightning in the middle of a five-game road trip, Stamkos flew back to Tampa on Wednesday for an MRI, where the results showed the tear. There’s no timetable for a return and he’s currently labeled as out “indefinitely.”

“We are in the process of evaluating options for repair and rehabilitation and will release more information as it becomes available,” said Lightning GM Steve Yzerman in a statement.

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Here’s a replay of what happened:

Stamkos is currently tied for second in scoring with 20 points and has also scored nine goals through 17 games. Tampa has taken points from six of their last eight games and are tied with the Ottawa Senators at 21 points right behind the Montreal Canadiens in the Atlantic Division.

The Lightning are already without Anton Stralman and Jonathan Drouin, who both could be back at some point in the next week.

“It’s something we’ve been through before,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Wednesday night via Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. “You never want to lose your top goal scorer, and your captain. But not too long ago we were in this situation.”

Stamkos missed the final five games of the 2015-16 regular season and all but one postseason game last year due to a blood clot. Despite the loss of the face of their franchise, the Lightning still managed to keep winning. Remembering that experience could come in handy if their captain is out again for an extended period of time.

So if you’re keeping track, that’s Stamkos, Johnny Gaudreau, Taylor Hall and Darren Helm all lost to injury on Wednesday. Just brutal.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy