Noah Dobson and Victor Hedman are out: an advantage for the Lightning

Jonathan Di Gregorio
Noah Dobson and Victor Hedman are out: an advantage for the Lightning
Credit: Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

We have confirmation today that Victor Hedman will not be available to start the series.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper announced that the towering defenseman has started skating with the team and will travel with the club to Montreal, but he did not provide details on a date for his potential return to action.

Let's not forget that this is the time of year when coaches and organizations become very tight-lipped about their players' injuries.

This news will likely please Montreal fans, as the Canadiens are also set to begin the postseason with a major absence, with Noah Dobson sidelined for at least another week.

Dobson versus Hedman—at first glance, their absences seem comparable on the ice, but the loss of Dobson could hurt the Habs much more than that of Hedman.

This season, the Lightning defenseman has played only 33 games. His team has therefore had to play 49 games without him, during which they maintained a record of 33-12-4 (0.714).

The Tampa Bay team is used to playing—and winning—without Hedman, as it has done all season long.

And even in the 33 games he did play, the Swede saw significantly less ice time this season, averaging 18:52 minutes—more than four minutes less than last year, when he averaged 23:05 minutes on the ice.

Not only is Hedman 35 years old, but the emergence of Darren Raddysh on the blue line has also reduced his ice time.

For his part, the Canadiens played only two games without Dobson, and in both of those games, the team was not particularly convincing on defense.

The 26-year-old defenseman was also playing three and a half minutes more than Hedman, averaging 22:29 minutes this season.

These are extra minutes that the Habs' defensemen will have to shoulder.

What is clear is that this will be a good test of the defensive depth of both teams, which will have to start the first round with a key absence on the blue line.


In a flash

– Victor Loturi opens the scoring early.

– CF doubles its lead.

– The Rocket's lineup.

– The playoffs have begun!

– And things are heating up!

– The Cavs win the first game.

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