The Tampa Bay Lightning announced this morning that defender Dan Girardi is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. This is a setback for Girardi, who had previously not been expected to miss much time. He and fellow defender Anton Stralman have missed a handful of games recently. The team did not provide any update on Stralman, who was not at practice today.
For the immediate future, this removes some of the depth that has been so valuable all season. What was once a seven-player rotation on defense now has a clear top six when Stralman returns.