On Tuesday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Lightning placed forward Scott Sabourin on the injured reserve per Erik Erlendsson.
Sabourin, a player who has been a regular injury replacement for the Lightning this season, suffered an injury after he was knocked out in a fight against Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj on Sunday night.
The 33-year-old Sabourin has spent the season splitting time between the NHL and the Lightning's American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. In nine NHL games this season, Sabourin has registered three points and 63 penalty minutes. He also was recently in headlines, as he received a fine for an incident that occurred in Saturday's game against the Florida Panthers.
At the AHL level, Sabourin has scored six goals and added two assists for a total of eight points in 20 games with the Crunch. At this time, it is unknown how long he'll be out of the lineup.
Sabourin did also receive some praise recently, as on the 32 Thoughts podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman said that he thinks Sabourin deserves a full-time role with the Lightning based on his play and physicality so far this season.
The Sabourin-less Lightning will kick off their California road trip on Wednesday in Anaheim.