Stamkos, Hall, and Gaudreau to Miss Action
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The injury bug hit three key players in the NHL. The first one is Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee. Stamkos will be out indefinitely and there is no timetable for his return.
Stamkos had 9 goals and 11 assists to start the season. How can the Lightning replace his production during his absence? Nikita Kucherov needs to be the focal point on offense. He has 8 goals and 13 assists so far this season. Tyler Johnson, Jonathan Drouin, and Victor Hedman need to score more.
They also have the ability to sometimes go 7 defenseman in the lineup. Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy need to stay sharp in net.
The second one is Taylor Hall of the New Jersey Devils will be out 3-4 weeks after getting arthroscopic surgery in his left knee for a torn meniscus. Hall had 5 goals and 7 assists to start the season. How can the Devils replace his production until he comes back? Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, and Michael Cammalleri need to score more, and they can rely on Cory Schneider stealing a game or two.
The third one is Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames. There is no specific timetable for his return. He is injured with a broken finger. Gaudreau had 5 goals and 6 assists to start the season. How can the Flames replace his production? Since it seems like he has been the only consistent, maybe every one will start to play for one another and not rely on one guy.
