Trevor Daley Injury: Updates on Penguins Defenseman's Leg and Return

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley suffered a left leg injury during Friday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Continue for updates.

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Daley Left Arena on Crutches

Friday, May 20

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said he expects to have an update on Daley on Saturday.

"He obviously has a lower-body injury," Sullivan said, per Joe McDonald of ESPN.com. "We'll have more updates [Saturday], but he's an important player on our team. So when we lose him for the rest of this game, he's a hard guy to replace."

Daley exited the game with 9:07 remaining in the second period of Game 4, per McDonald. The Lightning went on to win the game 4-3 to even the Eastern Conference Final at 2-2.

Josh Yohe of DK Pittsburgh Sports noted Daley left Amalie Arena on crutches. Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review noted Daley's left foot might have been in a cast as he made his exit.

"He plays a lot of minutes," Sullivan said, per McDonald. "He plays in key situations. So when you lose him halfway through the game like we did and you get down to five [defensemen], it's hard enough going down to five, but when you lose someone like Trevor that plays important minutes for us, it just makes it that much tougher."

Daley's absence didn't have much of impact on Friday's game, as the Penguins were already down by two goals by the time he suffered the injury. Pittsburgh will likely need him on the ice if it wants to win the series, though.

The Penguins are 8-1 in the postseason when Daley has a positive plus/minus rating. He had a plus-two rating in Pittsburgh's Game 3 victory in Tampa Bay, but on Friday, Daley was on the ice when Pittsburgh allowed two first-period goals.

If Daley is on the ice and plays well, he's a versatile weapon who benefits the Penguins. His absence could be a turning point as the series shifts back to Pittsburgh for Sunday's Game 5.