- Anthony Cirelli left the Lightning’s win over Vegas after two periods with an undisclosed injury
- The center scored twice in the 6-2 victory before going down
- Read below for who could replace him in the lineup
Anthony Cirelli injury news has the Lightning sweating after a big night in Vegas.
The Tampa Bay center did not come out for the third period of Tuesday’s 6-2 win over the Golden Knights, and the team has not said why. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger first noted that Cirelli had not taken a shift in the third and was not on the bench:
It is not clear when Cirelli got hurt. He had scored twice in the second period, first putting the Lightning up 3-2 on a pass from Nikita Kucherov and then making it 4-2 later in the period.
Cirelli also wasn’t part of the team’s walk-off video after the game. Watch the Lightning’s post:
There is no official update yet, and no injury video has surfaced.
Tampa Bay was already thin up front, dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Brayden Point, Zemgus Girgensons and Conor Geekie soaked up the extra center minutes in the third. Kucherov added the only third-period goal on a breakaway, which tied him with Steven Stamkos for the franchise points lead, as we covered in our Kucherov record story.
If Cirelli misses time, Dominic James and Scott Sabourin are the extra forwards on the roster. James is the likelier call. The 24-year-old has played two games for Tampa Bay this season and had 15 points in 43 games as a rookie last year. Sabourin brings more physical play, with 63 hits in 26 games last season.
Cirelli has five points in nine games this season. The 29-year-old has averaged around 18 minutes a night since 2019, and the Lightning (7-2) will need an answer at second-line center. Losing him would hurt a team off its best start since 2020-21.
The Lightning have not announced a timeline, so Cirelli’s status is the next thing to watch.
