Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman has become a veritable force for the Lightning, taking on a much larger role in light of the team’s injury struggles.
Ever since before the first puck dropped to kick off the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been dealing with more than their fair share of injuries. Heck, if you look back into the regular season, there was a time when the Lightning had no less than nine players relegated to the sidelines with a variety of injuries.
Unfortunately, as the Tampa Bay Lightning prepares to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2016 Eastern Conference Final, some of the more integral parts of the Lightning’s offensive and defensive cores still remain on the sidelines with rather serious injuries. Given the fact these players have been out the entire postseason thus far, someone had to take on a much bigger role to make up for these players being out.
Who might this person be who was able to come in and, sometimes quite literally, save the day for the Tampa Bay Lightning? This player would be none other than Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman. Unfortunately, right before the start of the preseason, Hedman’s linemate Anton Stralman would suffer a fractured tibia that would see him miss the first two rounds of playoff action.
While the Tampa Bay Lightning have plenty of depth at all positions within their organization, and players like Slater Koekkoek, Matt Taormina, and Luke Witkowski have helped fill some of the voids, the onus has been on Hedman to carry the load for the Lightning’s defense.
There have been points in the postseason where Victor Hedman has averaged around 30 minutes on the ice per game. This may not seem like a lot, but this places Hedman in eighth place in the National Hockey League in regards to time on ice among defensemen. Also, when you look at the ways in which Hedman is valuable to the team, Hedman playing that kind of minutes has been a godsend for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Victor Hedman is one of the most offensively-minded defensemen in the NHL. Hedman has registered at least a point in five of the Lightning’s ten postseason matchups thus far. Two of those points came in the form of goals, one of which was the game-winner, in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s killing blow to the New York Islanders in Game 5 on May 8th at the Amalie Arena.
So far during the postseason, the six foot six inch tall Swede has scored four goals and five assists for a total of nine points. These numbers place Hedman in fourth place on the team in overall points and first place among Lightning defensemen in overall points.
One of the things that separate Victor Hedman from other defensemen in the league is his incredible speed and his superb puck handling skills. Hedman’s puck handling skills were on full display in Game 5. The Lightning were playing the puck in the offensive zone when Victor Hedman was able to knock the puck away from Islanders RW Kyle Okposo, spin around, and seamlessly fire the puck past Thomas Greiss and into the back of the net.
Victor Hedman has proven to be an asset to the Lightning organization both on and off the ice. Hedman has the leadership skills to help the younger Lightning players reach the next level in their careers and every single time Victor Hedman steps out on the ice, he is prepared to give everything he has and leave it all out on the ice night after night.
Despite how amazing Hedman has been over the course of the postseason, we’re pretty sure he’d very much like to get his linemate back in the lineup. While Hedman has been able to shoulder the weight of the Lightning world on his shoulders so far, we’re sure he’d like to get back to business with his fellow Swede Anton Stralman by his side.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have quite the challenge in front of them. When the next round gets started, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to defend their reign as the leading team in the Eastern Conference against the onslaught of captain Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Next: Lightning Will Face Penguins in Eastern Conference Finals
While the next round will certainly be challenging for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Lightning have a proven track record of success against the Penguins in both regular season and postseason play. If there is any team in the Eastern Conference who has a chance of defeating the Penguins and moving on to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, it is the Tampa Bay Lightning.