Canadiens Catch Break as Hedman Returning to Series “Doubtful”

Don’t expect star defenseman Victor Hedman to make it back in time to help the Tampa Bay Lightning in their series with the Montreal Canadiens. Hedman was taking part in Tampa’s optional skate on Tuesday morning, but he’s been ruled unlikely by his coach.

Just like he did Sunday morning before Game 1, Hedman skated, but didn’t play. Cooper says the Tampa captain will skate and be around the team, even joining the Lightning on the road trip to Montreal. But Cooper says he’s not available to play at the moment.

That could change at some point as Cooper said earlier this week, “Probably not available right now, but it’s playoff time, so we keep those things close to the vest.”

Hedman has missed a lot of this season, including taking a temporary leave of absence from the team in March to attend to a personal matter. The 35-year-old has been sidelined for significant stretches this season due to injury. He was out for a month earlier in the year with an undisclosed issue, then underwent elbow surgery in December that kept him out of the lineup until February.

He’s played only 33 games this season, which forced guys like Darryn Raddysh to step up in his absence.

Montreal leads 1-0 in the series, and Game 2 goes Tuesday night in Tampa. The Habs are hoping they can take advantage of Hedman being out again and put a stranglehold on the series as they head back home for Game 3 on Thursday.

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