Lightning win game, but lose star defenseman Victor Hedman to injury

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced during the second intermission that star defenseman Victor Hedman would 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 Monday. Hedman himself just came back after missing a large chunk of November with an undisclosed ailment, and naturally, it is unclear if this injury is related. Regardless, losing their captain when Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak 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. Tuesday night’s win ended a four-game skid, but things won’t get any easier without Vasilevskiy or Hedman.