The Tampa Bay Lightning will hold defender Victor Hedman out of Sunday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. Hedman is dealing with a lower-body injury and the team considers him day-to-day. He was re-evaluated after suffering an injury Saturday against the Boston Bruins.
Injury update: #TBLightning defenseman Victor Hedman is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. #TBLvsDET
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 8, 2020
Victor Hedman Day To Day
Hedman has been the Lightning’s most productive defender in 2019-20. The 29-year-old has 11 goals and 55 points in 66 games. He also leads all skaters in average ice time with 24:04 and anchors the power play. Hedman handled almost all key aspects of the team’s offence from the point. The team has plenty of firepower but Hedman has been one of the primary drivers. His 53.0 Corsi For is one of the best among Lightning defenders.
The second overall pick from the 2009 Draft has been one of the NHL’s most consistent scoring defenders for most of his career. Hedman has never contributed fewer than 20 points in any of his 11 years in the league. His best season came in 2016-17 when Hedman scored 16 goals and 72 points in 79 games but there is a slim chance he could exceed that total if this injury does not keep him out of the action for too long.
What This Means for the Future
It is unclear what he is ailing Hedman, so we do not have a timetable for his return until his re-evaluation on Monday. Tampa Bay is currently locked into a playoff spot. They are seven points behind Boston but 11 points ahead of the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs.
Mikhail Sergachev and Kevin Shattenkirk are more than capable of running the power-play until Hedman returns. They also signed former Buffalo Sabres defender Zach Bogosian to be an additional physical presence on the blueline. Assuming Monday’s evaluation goes well, Hedman will come back strong for the first round of the playoffs.
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