Lightning coach Cooper: 'We can't go much longer' without Hedman
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman has resumed skating after missing about a month with a finger injury, and head coach Jon Cooper said the team needs him now more than ever.
“I don’t want to throw numbers out but he’s a top-10-slash-top-five defenseman in the NHL,” Cooper told Ken Campbell of the Hockey News. “You pull the top defenseman from any team in this league and everybody would have issues. We’ve weathered this storm without him, but we can’t go much longer.”
Hedman has missed 15 games after having surgery to repair a fractured finger in late October. He was given a four-to-six-week timetable and remains on track for a return in early December.
The Lightning are 10-4-1 in games without Hedman since he suffered the injury, and they trail the first-place Montreal Canadiens by a single point in the Atlantic Division.
Hedman's injury has forced veteran blue-liners Anton Stralman, Matt Carle and Jason Garrison to play more than 20 minutes per game in his absence. Carle played nearly 26 minutes in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
“The line we use in Tampa is, ‘(Hedman is) a fortnight away,’" Cooper said. “That’s our new hockey term.”