New York, NY – Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis was hit in the face by a puck during Thursday's practice and is expected to miss the game against the New York Rangers, which would be his 500th consecutive game.
He left the ice at Madison Square Garden during the morning practice after getting hit near the left eye off a shot from a teammate. He was bleeding from the area and was taken to a nearby hospital for examination.
"I assume he won't be able to play tonight," Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said. "I don't know specifically if it was on the eye, but it was in the area of the eye. I don't know if it hit him in the orbital or the cheekbones. It's a difficult loss for the team."
St. Louis has played in 499 straight games, second only to Calgary defenseman Jay Boumeester's 531-game streak coming into Thursday's action.
The 36-year-old St. Louis has nine goals and 13 assists in 27 games this season for Tampa, which has lost five straight games.
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