Anders Lindback Photo by Linda Hamilton

New Lightning goalie Anders Lindback’s contract with Ilves Tampere in Finland may have expired, but not before he suffered a freak injury at practice on December 18th. The incident left him with stitches in his right knee, but luckily no structural damage.

The injury occured when Lindback opened up to make a save.

“The puck hit my knee. I wear two sets of knee pads, so it was just one of those things. The puck just slipped through. I thought it was just going to be bruised and when I got into the locker room and took my gear off I was bleeding all over. It was really weird. It was a good shot, I guess,” Lindback said. (Quote Source: Tampa Bay Times)

The goalie will work out on his own now that his stitches have been removed. The outcome of a new CBA will dictate if he returns to play in Europe.

- In less positive injury news, J.T. Brown suffered a broken collarbone as the Syracuse Crunch defeated the Norfolk Admirals 4-2  on December 28th. Many expected Brown to be with the Lightning if/when the lockout ended. If a shortened season does begin this month, Brown will still be recovering from surgery.

He’s expected to be out 6-8 weeks following the repair to the displaced fracture.