Lightning suffer devastating blow ahead of playoffs

While the Tampa Bay Lightning may not be quite as strong as they have been in the past several seasons that have saw them advance to the Stanley Cup Final three straight times, they're still the team to beat in the Easter Conference. Simply put - if you want to advance, you have to go through Tampa. 

The Lighting are once again gearing up to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the postseason that will get underway later this month, but they were dealt a bit of devastating news as the regular season schedule continues to wind down to a close.

Not only did they fail to take down the New York Islanders in last night's game (while Toronto secured home ice advantage for their impending matchup), they lost forwards Pat Maroon as well as Tanner Jeannot over the course of the game. The latter was hurt after being taken down along the boards by Islanders forward Scott Mayfield. He was unable to put any weight on his leg and required assistance to be able to make his way off the ice and down to the dressing room; he would be ruled out for the rest of the game. 

And needless to say, head coach Jon Cooper was concerned afterward.

As you may remember, the Lighting brought aboard Jeannot from the Nashville Predators in exchange for an absolute haul that included defenseman Cal Foote, a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and a third-, fourth- and fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

If he's unable to play in Tampa's opening round series against Toronto, chalk that up as an instant advantage for the Leafs. We'll keep our eyes peeled for any updates on his condition.