Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos exits with apparent leg injury

The incident occurred in the first period when Stamkos and Blackhawks forward Joey Anderson fell to the ice after getting tangled up along the boards. While Stamkos was able to rise from the tumble, he appeared to be in serious discomfort when putting weight on his leg.

After exiting gingerly, the forward disappeared into the tunnel and straight to the locker room. The Lightning eventually ruled him out for the remainder of the contest. Prior to taking the early exit, Stamkos had logged one hit and one block in just shy of seven minutes of ice time. 

Stamkos has registered 27 goals and 66 points in 65 games played this season. Earlier in the campaign, he became the third active player in the NHL to reach the 500-goal milestone, joining fellow veteran stars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in that elite club. Among active and non-active players, Stamkos is the 46th to net at least 500 goals.

Consider the Lightning forward day-to-day moving forward. Stamkos' status and return timetable figure to clarify in the days ahead.