Lightning’s Emil Martinsen Lilleberg To Have Player Safety Hearing

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg is scheduled to have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for interference against Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher in Saturday night’s loss. The hit came at 11:31 in the second period when Lilleberg stepped up for a late hit after Compher dumped the puck into the zone. The hit seemed high but it wasn’t clear if it contacted Compher’s head. Lilleberg received a two-minute penalty.

Lilleberg has been one of many depth defensemen to step up amid Tampa Bay’s string of blue-line injuries. He’s appeared in 45 of the team’s 48 games this season, rotating through roles on all three pairs. He has 11 assists and 76 penalty minutes on the year while playing in as little as 14 minutes or as much as 22 minutes each night. Lilleberg reached 82 career appearances with his last game, though he’s still searching for his first career goal. He recorded five assists and 16 penalty minutes in 37 appearances last season.

Tampa Bay saw the return of Erik Cernak in their Saturday matchup against Detroit, but they’re still without top-four defender J.J. Moser. Darren Raddysh has continued to serve next to Victor Hedman on the top pair, while Lilleberg and Nicklaus Perbix make up the bottom pair. Should Lilleberg face any form of suspension, the Bolts will likely turn towards one of Maxwell Crozier or Declan Carlile. The former has been the team’s de facto fill-in this month, but Carlile is the only left-shot of the team’s many injury fill-ins. Carlile has seven points and 37 penalty minutes in 36 AHL games this season, but has only played in one NHL game.