Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson was forced to make an early exit from Thursday's game against Minnesota after receiving a knee-on-knee hit from Wild forward Nino Niederreiter.

Johnson was helped off the ice, and it was later announced that both he and Vladislav Namestnikov - who also left the game with a lower-body injury - would not return.

Tampa Bay entered the contest with a slim shot at making the playoffs, and it could be even more of an uphill battle if Johnson's injury is ruled serious.

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