Pro Hockey
Just one click shy of 100 career points, and with 10 games to go in the season, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Ryan Shannon’s been sidelined for the duration with a shoulder injury.
According to published reports on Tuesday and today, Shannon has undergone surgery to mend the injury, ending his season.
He had missed three games with what the club called an upper body injury, after earlier missing time, but returning, from what was reported to be a knee injury prior to that.
Shannon was not listed as injured for the last game, a 7-3 loss to Buffalo, but scratched without comment from the team on his condition.
Then on Tuesday reports appeared in the Tampa press of his having his shoulder operated on.
Shannon played about seven minutes in the previous game to that, a 3-1 loss to the NHL-topping Blues, then left the game in the second period with the shoulder acting up.
He missed 15 games with the knee injury the end of Dec. and into Jan.
It’s been one heck of a season for the Lightning, last year’s Stanley Cup seven-game semifinalists. Mired in injuries, Tampa’s lost six of seven and is struggling to stay in the playoff race — nine points out of the running — in last place in the Southeast Division and just two points up on last place in the Eastern Conference.
Shannon’s season stops on four goals, 12 points in 45 games.
Turning twenty-nine this month and in his sixth NHL season, seventh as pro — winning the Stanley Cup with the Ducks his rookie year — the Darien native signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Bolts last summer.
He is the first player from town to ever skate in the NHL and second Conn.-born player, with Chris Drury from Trumbull, to wear a Stanley Cup ring.
