The Tampa Bay Lightning suddenly look vulnerable as they are set to be without Victor Hedman
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Daniel Lucente
Apr 21, 2026 (1:32 PM)
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Photo credit: © Kim Klement-Imagn Images
Victor Hedman being ruled doubtful for this series rips the spine out of Tampa Bay, and Montreal suddenly has a real path to control it.
This is not just about one defenseman missing time.
It is about the matchup changing shape.
Tampa Bay finished 50-26-6, but Hedman has not played since March 19, and Jon Cooper now sounds like a coach planning without his captain.
That changes every hard minute against Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Game 1 already hinted at the problem, Montreal won 4-3 in overtime, Juraj Slafkovsky scored a power-play hat trick, and the Canadiens grabbed the first punch.
"The doubtful side for this series."
- Jon Cooper
- Jon Cooper
Without Hedman, Tampa loses its cleanest first pass, its best defensive stick, and the one blue liner who can calm chaos when the forecheck starts to swarm.
That matters more against this Montreal group than many expected.
Victor Hedman absence strains Tampa Bay Lightning
Fans are right to feel the series tilt a little here.
Montreal does not need pretty hockey to make this hurt.
Suzuki drives pace, Caufield scored 51-37-88 in the regular season, and Slafkovsky just showed he can punish a passive penalty kill.
Now the ripple effect hits Andrei Vasilevskiy.
He has to erase more second chances, while Tampa asks depth defenders to survive longer shifts and cleaner matchups than they were built for.
Nikita Kucherov can still steal a night, and Brandon Hagel already scored twice in Game 1, so Tampa is not dead.
But the clean favorite label belongs to Montreal today.
If Hedman cannot go, this stops being a talent test and becomes a structure test, and right now the Canadiens look built to pass it.
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