The Tampa Bay Lightning announced during the second intermission that star defenseman Victor Hedman will not return versus Montreal due to injury. The Swede left after 06:14 of ice time, which was all in the first period. Further details have not been provided at this time on possible severity.
The hits keep coming for Tampa Bay, already having a defense corps ravaged by injury, to go with Andrei Vasilevskiy landing on IR yesterday. Hedman himself just came back after missing a large chunk of November with an undisclosed ailment, and naturally, it is unclear if today’s injury is related. Regardless, losing their captain when Ryan McDonagh and Erik Černák remain sidelined is a serious blow. Despite facing such adversity, the longtime contenders have mostly continued their winning ways, currently second in the Atlantic Division. J.J. Moser has stepped up and risen to the occasion in his second season as a Bolt, emerging as a highly reliable top four defender, a savvy pickup helping the team extend its contention window.
Hedman himself, now 34, has been remarkably durable throughout his career. The towering defender is already well above 1,100 career games, not to mention another 170 playoff appearances, leading the team in heavy minutes throughout runs over the past decade. Despite all of it, when healthy, the 2009 draftee remains elite, having 12 points in 17 games this season.
As is symbolic of their season so far, Tampa Bay handled business over the Canadiens tonight even being short on the back-end. However, Hedman’s status will be a huge question, along with how long the team can sustain success with so many key players shaken up for the time being. Tonight’s win ended a four game skid, but things won’t get any easier without Vasilevskiy or Hedman.
Poor Heddy, hopefully it’s nothing too serious and just a minor setback/tweak or something and will be back sooner rather than later.
Makes you wonder if we need to continue to pay these high priced salaries to keep winning. Maybe we save money and pay more to extend Kuch.
Kuch is eligible for an extension on July 1st next year. I don’t doubt he’ll get an extension this summer as he’s continues to produce at significant high rate as one of the best in the league.
I have been very critical of Victor Hedman. Whether it is father time catching up or that the fire in his furnace has waned, he clearly started the year a step or 2 behind.
The injuries to d corp have been a blessing in disguise. Without them, we would not have the evidence that the modern game needs defensemen that can win races, move pucks and keep up in the play. We now have 20 games of evidence that we have depth and that the style of play is part of the winning formula.
Stamkos was clearly slowing down, and while nobody can criticize VH character, as a captain on the ice during games, he lacks fire. Especially when he clearly has not played well all season.
When he plays, he always lets the opponent get the puck first in the corners and tries to poke and defend. All the young guys win races to the wall, win battles on the boards, and move the puck out much more efficiently. Cernak and McDonough to a lesser extent have the same issue.
Lastly, the cap hurt the lightning more than anyone else 5 years ago, having to move core pieces. Going forward, they are in the best place. They have Hall of Fame guys still with term at now moderate cap hits.