The Tampa Bay Lightning are without Victor Hedman and Brayden Point on Tuesday as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers. Hedman is believed to be out extremely “short-term” with an injury. Point will sit after missing a team meeting.
Lightnings Victor Hedman and Brayden Point Out
Lightning coach Jon Cooper says defenseman Victor Hedman expected t be out "extremely short-term" with lower body injury. Stralman draws in after being scratched Monday. Jan Rutta recalled from AHL for insurance
— Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) February 19, 2019
The Bolts announced Tuesday that the team would face the Flyers without both Hedman and Point. Hedman left Mondays game against the Colombus Blue Jackets after completing the first period. Hedman’s injury was later deemed a lower-body injury.
Currently, the exact cause is unknown as there was no noticeable damage during the period. After the game, Hedman was spotted leaving the dressing room with a slight limp. Hedman averages 22:26 minutes of ice time a night. He owns seven goals and 30 assists for 37 points in 53 games played this season. Most likely, the team is just being overly cautious with their star defenseman.
Brayden Point out for Lightning's game against Flyers https://t.co/rMdLB75ko7
— Tampa Bay Times (@TB_Times) February 20, 2019
Additionally, Tampa Bay announced that Point would sit for Tuesday’s contest. The club completed warm-ups without Point and is presumably only going to miss one game. Removing him from the bench for the tilt will serve as punishment for missing a team meeting earlier in the day.
Point has been thriving this season, netting 35 goals and 43 assists for 78 points in 59 games. Tyler Johnson will take his place on the second line, centring Yanni Gourde and Nikita Kucherov.
What this means for the future
The Bolts recently re-assigned Mathieu Joseph to the AHL to open a space for Jan Rutta during Hedman’s injury. Danick Martel will slot back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch. Anton Stralman will take Hedman’s place on the bench.
The Bolts will shuffle their pairings for the matchup. J.T. Miller will take a spot on the top line on Steven Stamkos‘ right wing. Tampa is a deep team and can easily adjust to accommodate absences.
