The Tampa Bay Lightning earned a big win on Monday, yet in an increasingly disturbing trend, the biggest news might be a troubling injury.
By beating the Montreal Canadiens 5-3, the Lightning clinched a playoff berth for the eighth time in franchise history. They also swept the 2014-15 season series against the Habs in the process.
#TBLightning establish a new franchise record for wins in a season with their 47th tonight. #TBLvsMTL
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) March 31, 2015
That would be cause for celebration ... if there wasn’t concern about a possible injury to Norris-level defenseman Victor Hedman. Hedman only skated one shift in the third period, so we’ll need to wait and see if there any updates.
It may not be clear how injured Hedman is until Tuesday or later:
Cooper didn't have an update on Hedman, calling him "questionable" for tomorrow
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 31, 2015
If it isn’t clear enough that the Lightning’s defense is under fire, consider this:
With Victor Hedman still in the Tampa room, Lightning defense is now Stralman, Carle, Barberio, Nesterov and Witkowski
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) March 31, 2015
Maybe the Lightning should dress the rest of their best players in bubble wrap during the final two weeks (or so) of the regular season.