Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos?underwent surgery on the lateral meniscus tear in his right knee and is expected to miss approximately four months, the team announced on Thursday.The Lightning said Wednesday that Stamkos was out indefinitely, but coach Jon Cooper said the center would be back in time for the playoffs in April.?If we put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs, hes going to be back, Cooper said Thursday. And thatll be better than any trade deadline acquisition that anybody else is going to get.Youve got to take your head out of the sand, dig your heels in and march on. And unfortunately, this has happened to us before and the guys have found a way.TSN was first to report that Stamkos needed surgery.He left the ice in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, favoring his right leg after getting tangled up with Detroits Gustav Nyquist along the boards.According to the Tampa Bay Times, Stamkos clutched the back of his right knee after the collision and stumbled as he made his way toward the Lightning locker room. He did not return and there was little in the way of updates from Cooper after the Lightnings 4-3 victory.Stamkos was off to a tremendous start to the season. His first-period goal Tuesday gave him nine goals on the season, and his 20 points are tied for third among all NHL players.Stamkos missed all but one of Tampa Bays postseason games last spring with a blood clot issue. But after signing an eight-year contract extension that pays him $8.5 million annually to remain with the Lightning, Stamkos returned in full health and played for Canada at the World Cup of Hockey.Stamkos has collected points in seven of the past nine Lightning games, and Tampa Bay is tied for second in the Atlantic Division with Ottawa with a 10-6-1 record.You live in this reality now, and weve just got to have to face it,?defenseman Victor Hedman?said Thursday. Itll be a good test for us. But at the same?time, we know we can handle it, and we know we can win hockey games even though were going to miss him.Information from ESPNs Scott Burnside was used in this report. Cheap Air Max 720 Uk . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Authentic Air Max 90 . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. 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No further details on the motive or circumstances were released.The couple were the father and stepmother of ex-NASCAR star Robby Gordon, who fought back tears and expressed disbelief Thursday outside the home on a Southern California hillside where he grew up and developed his love of racing.Im so sad, and I cant believe it, the racing star said outside the house. I grew up on this property my whole life.Robby Gordon recalled how his father, a racer known as Baja Bob in the motorsports community, instilled in him a love for competition and motorsports in the Orange County neighborhood, where many residents own horses and dirt riding trails line the suburban streets.Gordon said he had given his father the home 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles where police discovered the bodies Wednesday after receiving a 911 call from a neighbor making a welfare check at the request of relatives.Robby Gordon told the Orange County Register that family members had become concerned when his father missed a doctors appointment.The younger Gordon currently races in an off-road series he created in 2013 called Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, following the path of his father.The elder Gordon started out in horse racing at the local track in Los Alamitos, California, before getting into auto racing.He taught me at a young age that one horsepower wasnt going to be enough -- go do something different, Gordon recalled his father saying. And I was fortunate enough to do something different.Residents in the upscale neighborhood shared stories about the couples friendly ways -- swapping jokes with neighbors, gifting tickets to raccing events and delivering feed personally to local equestrians.ddddddddddddI can still see them walking hand in hand, walking their dogs down the street, said John Reina, who lives across the street. To kind of wrap your head around this tragedy is very hard to do.Robby Gordon said he would speak about the deaths in more detail once authorities conclude their investigation.The truth will come out, what went down there, he said.Racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted that he was praying for the Gordon family. Hope they find strength and support, he said.Heartbreaking news this morning. Thinking of the Gordon family and friends, NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson said on Twitter.Gordon, 47, has raced on numerous racing circuits, from NASCAR to IndyCar to Champ Car and IROC.Known for his aggressive style, he earned three wins in parts of 19 seasons in what is now the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He was a full-time driver early last decade and finished a career-high 16th in the points standings in 2003 driving for Richard Childress Racing. Gordon last raced in the Sprint Cup in 2012.Gordon is one of only four drivers, joining John Andretti, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch, to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He nearly won the 1999 Indy 500 before running out of fuel in the closing laps.Gordon said an event featuring his off-road racing team scheduled for this weekend in Orange County will go on as planned.Gordons sister, Beccy, is married to 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. The driver tweeted Wednesday that his wife had given birth to a boy. Hunter-Reay would appear as scheduled in a weekend race in Sonoma County, Gordon said.---Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles and AP freelance writer Mike Cranston in Chicago contributed to this report. ' ' '