Lightning lose both Maroon(suspended) and Goodrow(injured) in final week of regular season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning got some bad news on Sunday and that was quickly followed up by even worse news.

First, to the surprise of no one the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced that veteran enforcer Pat Maroon would be suspended for one game following his antics on Saturday night against the Florida Panthers. Although Lightning fans may not be happy about it, I am not at all shocked that the league chose to suspend Maroon after he attacked Florida Panthers' defenseman Brandon Montour well after the whistle and after the two men had already been separated by the officials. 

Although there's no question that it was a spear from Montour that instigated the whole affair, Maroon's actions potentially put the lleague's officials in danger when he ignored their commands by going back after Montour. Upon seeing this I knew immediately that the league would step in and protect its officials on the ice as the NHL has also been very protective of its officiating crews both on and off the ice. For a full breakdown of the Department of Player Safety's ruling on this matter, check out the video below courtesy of the National Hockey League.

Unfortunately for the Lightning things would only get worse from there. Although Maroon's suspension will only cost him a single game in the regular season, it sounds like veteran forward Barclay Goodrow will be out for considerably longer. The Lightning announced on Sunday that, due to what they are describing as an upper body injury, Goodrow has been sidelined "indefinitely." We have no idea how long he will be out for and it may very well be that the Lightning themselves don't have a good timetable for his return, but this type of language certainly makes it appear as though he could be out long term. That is of course terrible news with the playoffs just around the corner, especially when you consider the fact that the Lightning will be facing off against a tough opponent in the first round in the form of the aforementioned Florida Panthers.

Goodrow had a solid season for the Lightning picking up 5 goals and 13 assists for a combined 19 points over 54 regular season games, all of which resulted in him finishing the season with a plus minus rating of +16.