The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without captain Victor Hedman as they fight to stave off elimination tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, head coach Jon Cooper told the media today. Cooper did add that he expects Hedman to be an option “really soon,” hinting that he could potentially be able to dress on Sunday if the Lightning are able to force game seven against the Canadiens.
Cooper didn’t issue a firm update on the status of injured blueliner Charle-Edouard D’Astous, but Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reported that D’Astous is likely to make his return from injury tonight. D’Astous hasn’t played since game one of the series after suffering an undisclosed injury.
If he does end up returning, D’Astous could provide a real boost to Tampa Bay’s blueline. The former SHL, Liiga, ECHL, and QMJHL defenseman of the year had a breakout 2025-26 season, earning a full-time NHL role as an undrafted 28-year-old rookie. D’Astous scored 29 points in 70 games and added 112 penalty minutes.
He averaged 18:45 time on ice per game this season, and could take Emil Lilleberg‘s spot on the team’s third pairing. Lilleberg has averaged 16:59 time on ice per game in this series, including two minutes per game on the penalty kill. He could also take the spot of Maxwell Crozier, though that would require the left-shot defenseman playing on his off-side.
If Hedman is indeed able to return for a potential game seven, or even for the start of the second round (if Tampa Bay is able to make it there,) his return would provide a major boost to Tampa’s lineup.
The Lightning captain is one of the standout blueliners of his generation, a Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner. While his injuries slowed him down this season, and he’s potentially no longer a top point producer thanks to Raddysh’s emergence, he remains a central pillar of this era of Lightning hockey.
While Tampa is on the verge of elimination tonight, they remain one of the strongest teams in the postseason. Their combination of skill, ferocity, and veteran experience is one few teams can match, and they have one of the game’s finest goaltenders backstopping them.
If they can find a way to get past Montreal, and get a healthy Hedman back into their lineup, they could pose a serious threat to make their fourth Stanley Cup Final of the decade.
Hopefully for the good of hockey and to save us from having to hear more about the great Jon Cooper(when did they last win anything?), Montreal knocks Tampa out tonight
and hopefully Buffalo knocks out Boston tonight as well
It’s exciting to see the Ducks, Flyers, Wild and hopefully Canadians and Sabres advance – Utah would be icing on the cake. Been the same teams on top for 10 years or more, variety makes for a better product… fingers crossed we don’t see a COL or CAR cup raised and we really see a changing of the guard.
There have been 7 different Cup winners in the past 10 years and 13 different franchises in the final. That is a bit of variety. Don’t know what bugs you about Carolina but they have not been in the final or won the Cup since 2006.
Some of the teams listed above are winning their first playoff rounds in a decade or more. It’s not so hard to comprehend that the same teams (with a couple of upsets) have been on top for ages give. TBL, COL, PIT, FLA, BOS, CAR, EDM, VGK, DAL. Only 1 or 2 of the usuals are left, it’s refreshing.
Hedman is done. Needs to retire.
This tea is old and slow. Too many years of deep playoff runs. Let Saborin run wild.
Good to see Chucky D’Astous back after that nasty headshot from the dirty play of Josh Anderson who should have been ejected and suspended. But God forbid, the safety department actually does their job but they’re horribly incompetent as that’s well documented.
As for Victor Hedman, he’s had a rough season unfortunately for him. It would be great for him to get back into action and bounce back going into next season.
Hope Tampa can find their consistency, play with urgency and get that secondary support needed. If they get those elements going, they will win the game and push it to a Game 7 back in Tampa.
On a side note: I’m sick of hearing the media’s obsession over Montreal’s rancorous crowds in the Bell Centre. They’re loud but they’re a hypocritical fanbase who turns on their team the second they lose and boo them out of the arena. Yeah, great fanbase (eyes roll).
You are showing growth. Instead of blaming all of your bitterness on the Panthers, you have spread your wings and are now angry about the media and Montreal fans. Well done!
D’Astous was an incredible find by Tampa. Kudos. Had four amazing years with QMJHL Rimouski (with 40 pts 3 of the 4 years), then bouncing around the AHL and ECHL. Surged again overseas with Liiga KooKoo and Brynäs IF in the SHL, and he’s back for good.