Martin St. Louis hit in face by puck

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NEW YORK -- Martin St. Louis will be out of the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup indefinitely because of facial and nasal fractures sustained Thursday morning when he was struck in the face by a shot taken in practice by teammate Dominic Moore.

St. Louis sat out Thursday night against the New York Rangers, ending his consecutive games streak at 499 games -- the third-longest current run in the NHL. The Lightning announced the star forward's injuries in a statement and said St. Louis would return to Tampa immediately and be evaluated by team doctors when the swelling subsides in and around his left eye.

The Lightning recalled forward Blair Jones from Norfolk of the American Hockey League on Thursday, and he was in the lineup for the game against the Rangers.

Jones was injured early in the first period when he crashed into New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist. He was given a penalty for goalie interference and left a trail of blood from his nose as he skated off the ice.

St. Louis, who hadn't missed a game since Nov. 15, 2005, at Washington was hit near his left eye when Moore shot wide of the net Thursday morning. He was bleeding profusely when he left the ice at Madison Square Garden and was assisted to the dressing room by a trainer. St. Louis left the arena in an ambulance.

St. Louis is second on the Lightning with 22 points and third with nine goals in 27 games. His consecutive games streak trailed only Calgary defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's 533-game run, and Vancouver forward Henrik Sedin's 526 straight games, among active streaks.

Tampa Bay has lost five in a row and nine of 12.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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