Lightning D Victor Hedman out 4-6 weeks with broken finger
Victor Hedman is expected to miss at least a month after breaking his finger Saturday while blocking a shot against the Vancouver Canucks.
By
Chris Peters
•
1 min read
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without Victor Hedman for the next four to six weeks as he is set to undergo surgery on a fractured finger Tuesday. Hedman broke the bone on his hand when he blocked a shot in a game against the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night. He was sent home from the team’s road trip to undergo further evaluation in Tampa and that apparently revealed the more serious injury.
Hedman has been excellent to start the season. He’s tied for the lead among all defensemen with seven points and has been a force at both ends of the ice. A sleeper candidate for the Norris Trophy this year, Hedman will leave the Lightning without their top defenseman just as they were starting to mesh after some offseason revamping.
The Lightning do have the defensive depth to handle this loss better than they would have been able to a season ago, but Hedman’s absence should still be noticeable.
Hedman had his breakout season in 2013-14 with 55 points in 75 games. He shattered his career marks in goals and assists with 13 and 42, respectively. He also averaged 22:26 per game last season.
In the meantime, the Lightning will have to hope veteran defensemen like Anton Stralman, Jason Garrison and Matt Carle can step up and fill the void left by their 6-foot-6 star blueliner. The Lightning also expect to get back defenseman Radko Gudas for Monday night's contest against the Edmonton Oilers, as he had previously been out with injury as well.
