Lightning face more early adversity with Hedman injury
Doom and gloom.
Those words have parachuted into recent Lightning seasons like an unwanted house guest at the holidays.
The Lightning, who dealt with the loss of Steve Stamkos to a broken leg last season, will experience a similar situation as top defenseman Victor Hedman will miss time after suffering what is believed to be a fracture or break in his left hand during the second period of Saturday?s victory at Vancouver.
Hedman returned to Tampa and will be examined by Lightning team doctors today to determine the extent of the injury and a timetable for how long the 23-year-old will miss.
?It?s just an unfortunate situation,?? Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said. ?The start he had, you can really see him coming into his own and it?s been really fun to watch. To have a minor setback like this is really unfortunate, but we?ll see what happens. We know he?s going to be back. I don?t want to speculate, but if Stammer was a four-month thing, Heddy might be a four-week thing, so there is a big difference. But it is just too bad.??
Hedman entered Saturday?s game leading all defensemen with seven points while averaging about 20 minutes of ice time a game. After experiencing a breakthrough season last year, Hedman was on his way to establishing himself as a clear No. 1 defenseman and was garnering early-season Norris Trophy consideration.
?We get off to a good start, team?s playing great, he?s playing great, and it?s just so unfortunate,?? Stamkos said. ?Especially for him because this was probably going to be a year he was going to be up there for the Norris.??
Tampa Bay found a way to push through the loss of Stamkos last season, and the Lightning vow they will do the same in Hedman?s absence.
?If there is a team that has weathered a storm like this before, it was our guys last year when Stammer went down. So I guess we are a little bit mentally equipped for it,?? Cooper said. ?The one thing I believe that we accomplished in the summer was we went out and got some depth (on defense).??
The injury means others will have expanded roles on the blue line, with Anton Stralman taking over the point position on the No. 1 power-play unit and Jason Garrison stepping into the second unit.
Stralman, who had developed chemistry with Hedman on the top pairing, was working with Matt Carle at practice on Sunday. Mark Barberio, a healthy scratch the first five games, expects to make his regular-season debut tonight as Radko Gudas, who has missed the past two games, did not practice and might miss the next two games.
?Now we have to stick together as a team. Somebody has to take on more responsibility,?? Stralman said. ?We have some veteran guys on this team, so I?m sure we will be able to figure it out.??
Drouin called up
Top Lightning prospect Jonathan Drouin could make his anticipated NHL debut tonight after being recalled from a two-game conditioning assignment in the American Hockey League.
In those two games, Drouin picked up his first professional goal, scoring the game winner on Friday, and two assists to help Syracuse win a pair of games over the weekend.
?He?s ready,?? Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said. ?We think he played really well on the weekend ... and we think he?ll make us a better team.??
Drouin, the third overall pick in 2011, could have remained with Syracuse through next weekend to finish his assignment and made his debut when Tampa Bay hosts Arizona on Oct. 28. But the 19-year-old was deemed ready to return from a fracture in his right thumb.
In addition, Tampa Bay recalled defenseman Luke Witkowski from Syracuse as a precaution with the injuries to Hedman and Gudas.
Doom and gloom.
Those words have parachuted into recent Lightning seasons like an unwanted house guest at the holidays.
The Lightning, who dealt with the loss of Steve Stamkos to a broken leg last season, will experience a similar situation as top defenseman Victor Hedman will miss time after suffering what is believed to be a fracture or break in his left hand during the second period of Saturday?s victory at Vancouver.
Hedman returned to Tampa and will be examined by Lightning team doctors today to determine the extent of the injury and a timetable for how long the 23-year-old will miss.
?It?s just an unfortunate situation,?? Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said. ?The start he had, you can really see him coming into his own and it?s been really fun to watch. To have a minor setback like this is really unfortunate, but we?ll see what happens. We know he?s going to be back. I don?t want to speculate, but if Stammer was a four-month thing, Heddy might be a four-week thing, so there is a big difference. But it is just too bad.??
Hedman entered Saturday?s game leading all defensemen with seven points while averaging about 20 minutes of ice time a game. After experiencing a breakthrough season last year, Hedman was on his way to establishing himself as a clear No. 1 defenseman and was garnering early-season Norris Trophy consideration.
?We get off to a good start, team?s playing great, he?s playing great, and it?s just so unfortunate,?? Stamkos said. ?Especially for him because this was probably going to be a year he was going to be up there for the Norris.??
Tampa Bay found a way to push through the loss of Stamkos last season, and the Lightning vow they will do the same in Hedman?s absence.
?If there is a team that has weathered a storm like this before, it was our guys last year when Stammer went down. So I guess we are a little bit mentally equipped for it,?? Cooper said. ?The one thing I believe that we accomplished in the summer was we went out and got some depth (on defense).??
The injury means others will have expanded roles on the blue line, with Anton Stralman taking over the point position on the No. 1 power-play unit and Jason Garrison stepping into the second unit.
Stralman, who had developed chemistry with Hedman on the top pairing, was working with Matt Carle at practice on Sunday. Mark Barberio, a healthy scratch the first five games, expects to make his regular-season debut tonight as Radko Gudas, who has missed the past two games, did not practice and might miss the next two games.
?Now we have to stick together as a team. Somebody has to take on more responsibility,?? Stralman said. ?We have some veteran guys on this team, so I?m sure we will be able to figure it out.??
Drouin called up
Top Lightning prospect Jonathan Drouin could make his anticipated NHL debut tonight after being recalled from a two-game conditioning assignment in the American Hockey League.
In those two games, Drouin picked up his first professional goal, scoring the game winner on Friday, and two assists to help Syracuse win a pair of games over the weekend.
?He?s ready,?? Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said. ?We think he played really well on the weekend ... and we think he?ll make us a better team.??
Drouin, the third overall pick in 2011, could have remained with Syracuse through next weekend to finish his assignment and made his debut when Tampa Bay hosts Arizona on Oct. 28. But the 19-year-old was deemed ready to return from a fracture in his right thumb.
In addition, Tampa Bay recalled defenseman Luke Witkowski from Syracuse as a precaution with the injuries to Hedman and Gudas.
