Lightning Ds Ranger, Meszaros to undergo surgery

Feb 19, 2009 - 9:33 PM TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Tampa Bay Lightning defensemen Paul Ranger and Andrej Meszaros will both undergo shoulder surgery on March 3, the team announced Thursday.

Ranger and Meszaros will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, where renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews will repair labrum tears in their left shoulders. Both players are expected to be fully healed within six months.

"Paul has been playing with his injury for the majority of the season and he missed games on several occasions because of it," Lightning general manager Brian Lawton said. "Andrej suffered his injury after being hit by Evgeni Malkin earlier this month.

"For both players, we feel it important to get the shoulders repaired so they can be fully recovered and ready to go at the start of training camp for the 2009-10 season."

Ranger appeared in 42 games this season, tallying two goals and 11 assists. Meszaros recorded two goals and 14 assists in 52 games.