Just as soon as they get him back, the Tampa Bay Lightning will lose their star defenseman again. The Lightning announced that Victor Hedman will undergo an elbow procedure on Monday. He is expected to be back in early February in time for the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
Tampa Bay Times’ Lightning beat writer Eduardo Encina mentioned a specific date of Feb. 1. Should he be back by then, perhaps he could see action in the Stadium Series game. This update comes a day after a report from the Tampa Bay Times that said Hedman was getting a second opinion on a nagging ailment. It had been going on for over a month.
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Hedman was placed on injured reserve that same day. His most recent game played was on Dec. 9 against the Montreal Canadiens. He exited that game early with an injury.
He was back for just three games after having missed action for more than a month. The Lightning have to continue to navigate his absence. In 18 games played, he has no goals and 12 assists for 12 points.
Other defensemen have stepped up in his time away. Darren Raddysh and Charle-Edouard D’Astous have become pivotal defensemen this season. It’s been helpful since not only have they mostly been without Hedman, but fellow key defenseman Ryan McDonagh has been out since Nov. 8. Recent updates show McDonagh at practice, but he isn’t participating in drills yet. It was primarily solo stick work.
While things are tough for the Lightning when it comes to their star defensemen, they had a positive update on their star goalie. Head coach Jon Cooper said Andre Vasilevskiy is progressing. Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders appears to be ruled out, but he could be back Monday night against the Florida Panthers.
Injuries continue to provide a roller coaster experience for the Lightning, but they keep hanging in there. They sit tied for first place with the rival Boston Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division with 38 points apiece. They’ve won back-to-back games since experiencing a four-game skid.
