The Tampa Bay Lightning won again Tuesday night. It just didn’t feel like it.
The Lightning lost captain Steven Stamkos to an apparent injury to his right leg, which put a dark cloud over the team’s 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Stamkos was hurt in the first period but did not return.
There was no immediate report as to how long Stamkos might be out, but he left the ice in pain.
Stamkos, who signed an eight-year, $68 million contract, scored his ninth goal in the first period Tuesday.
“Hopefully it’s something minor,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
The Bolts won their second game in two days. This one didn’t come easily, however. The Bolts took a 3-1 lead. Detroit came back to tie the game, but Nikita Kucherov scored his second goal of the game with 70 seconds left to play.
Nikita Nesterov also scored for Tampa Bay.
The Bolts play in Boston Thursday night.
