It didn’t look good when a frustrated and seemingly injured Victor Hedman smacked the boards four times on his way off the ice Saturday. In a losing effort to the Philadelphia Flyers, the bigger news for the Tampa Bay Lightning was that they could be without their cornerstone defenseman and one of their top goal scorers.
The Lightning are already without Steven Stamkos. The pivot has yet to play in any of the Lightning’s round-robin games after suffering a lower-body injury in the team’s Phase 2 and now, if Hedman is out, the Lightning face a daunting task.
Honestly, the team can’t afford to lose Hedman, and it appears they might have.
Hedman suffered an ankle injury in the game versus the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Skating backwards to cover a play, when Hedman tried to pivot, he went down awkwardly and was clearly frustrated leaving the ice as if to suggest he knew something wasn’t right.
The team is unsure about how much time he’ll potentially miss. Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of Hedman’s injury:
“We don’t know how long this is going to be, but when your perennial Norris Trophy finalist is out that creates a hole. But, we’ve dealt with injuries before. Our captain’s out, he’s been out for a long time.”
“It’s a little frustrating because we feel like we’re going in the right direction … but that’s why you pick up guys at the deadline & add depth to your team & we have to circle the wagons”
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McDonagh to Carry Heavier Load
Ryan McDonagh had played 19 minutes, 16 seconds through two periods when Hedman went down in Saturday’s contest. That may be just scratchin the surface of what the Lightning will ask for him now.
Cooper will need to find a way to make up for the loss (he won’t be able to) and that will include asking McDonagh to pull more weight than he already is. Fortunately, McDonagh has looked great and relatively healthy after suffering broken foot late in season.
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