Lightning captain Steven Stamkos out with lower-body injury

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos will miss Sunday’s game against the Ottawa Senators due to a lower-body injury, the club announced on its official Twitter account.

Stamkos, 33, has two goals and four points in two games with the Lightning to start the 2023–24 regular season. He racked up two goals and an assist while logging 18:11 of ice time in Tampa Bay’s 6–4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

The Lightning are slated to take on the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday evening, in a game set to be broadcast on the NHL Network. The club officially listed Stamkos’ status as day-to-day.

Stamkos has spent his entire NHL career with the Lightning, winning the Stanley Cup with the team in 2020 and 2021. The Markham, Ontario product is in the final season of the eight-year pact he signed with the Bolts back in 2016, when we was also approaching unrestricted free agency.

Through 1,005 career games over parts of 16 NHL seasons with the Lightning, Stamkos has collected 517 goals and 1,060 points. He’s added 45 goals and 95 points in 123 career playoff contests. Stamkos’ current contract with the Lightning carries a full no-movement clause and an $8.5 million annual cap hit.

Stamkos has reached the 50-goal plateau twice in his career, including a 60-goal season with the team back in 2011–12. He was the cover athlete of EA Sports’ NHL 12 video game and more recently set a new career-high with 106 points in the 2021–22 season, after which he helped the Lightning reach their third consecutive Cup Final.

The Lightning have appeared in four NHL championship series during Stamkos’ tenure, winning two. The two-time “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner has represented Canada at three World Championships and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.