TAMPA — Victor Hedman was a full participant in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s morning skate and will be a game time decision against the Toronto Maple Leafs for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
The Lightning defenseman sustained an undisclosed injury in the first period of Tampa Bay’s 7-3 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday and did not return for the final two periods. He did not dress for Game 2 on Thursday, a 7-2 Maple Leafs win that tied the best-of-seven series 1-1.
The 32-year-old participated in line rushes and was lined up with Nick Perbix for drills. He did not seem limited at any time during the 20-minute skate.
Coach Jon Cooper said Hedman will take part in the pregame skate after which a decision will be made.
“Cross your fingers,” Cooper said. Hopefully he will be ready to go.”
The Lightning defense already is depleted with Erik Cernak once again ruled out after taking an illegal check to the head from Toronto forward Michael Bunting in the second period of Game 1. The Maple Leafs forward was suspended three games for his actions and won’t be eligible to return until Game 5 at Toronto on Thursday.
Defenseman Zach Bogosian is expected to play in Cernak’s place for the second consecutive game. If Hedman can’t go, defensean Haydn Fleury is the leading candidate to replace him, as he did in Game 2.
No matter who does or does not dress for Tampa Bay, Toronto must focus on its own collective game.
“You can’t control what’s going on over there,” Maple Leafs center Ryan O’Reilly said. “We have a game plan and we’re going to stick to it.
“Obviously he’s an important piece of their team but it’s more important to concentrate on what we need to do.”
Here are 3 keys for Game 3:
1. Get out of the gates fast
In Game 1 it took only 78 seconds for the Lightning to take a 1-0 lead, an advantage they did not relinquish. In Game 2 it was forward Mitchell Marner who got the Maple Leafs off to a good start, scoring just 47 seconds into a game they never trailed in.
In each instance, the early goal set the tone for the remainder of the game.
“It’s going to be important, especially on the road,” O’Reilly said. “We have to be aware of that.”
2. Let’s get physical
Tampa Bay set the tone in Game 1 by implementing a physical forecheck from the opening face-off, with forwards Corey Perry and Pat Maroon setting the early tone. In Game 2 it was Toronto’s turn, with defensemen Luke Schenn and Jake McCabe leading the hit parade.
“They have a lot of skilled players so you have to make it hard on them,” Schenn said. “We need to be physical right from the get-go.”
3. Sin bin blues
Each team’s power play has been effective through the first two games; the Lightning are 4-for-11 with the man advantage in the series (36.4 percent) and the Maple Leafs are 4-for-10 (40 percent), causing coaches Cooper and Sheldon Keefe to stress the importance of staying out of the penalty box.
Each team has looked dangerous on the power play, and O’Reilly said the solution is simple.
“Know where the line is, don’t cross it, and stay out of the box,” he said.
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Calle Jarnkrok — Auston Matthews — Mitchell Marner
Alexander Kerfoot — John Tavares — William Nylander
Matthew Knies — Ryan O’Reilly — Noel Acciari
Zach Aston-Reese — David Kampf — Sam Lafferty
Jake McCabe — TJ Brodie
Mark Giordano — Justin Holl
Morgan Rielly — Luke Schenn
Ilya Samsonov
Joseph Woll
Scratched: Erik Gustafsson, Timothy Liljegren, Conor Timmins, Wayne Simmonds, Erik Kallgren
Injured: Jake Muzzin (neck), Victor Mete (upper body), Nicholas Robertson (shoulder), Carl Dahlstrom (shoulder), Matt Murray (head)
Suspended: Michael Bunting
Lightning projected lineup
Steven Stamkos — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Alex Killorn
Ross Colton — Nicholas Paul — Tanner Jeannot
Pat Maroon — Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Corey Perry
Victor Hedman — Nick Perbix
Mikhail Sergachev — Darren Raddysh
Ian Cole — Zach Bogosian
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Scratched: Haydn Fleury
Injured: Erik Cernak (upper body), Michael Eyssimont (upper body)
Status report
Bunting will serve the second game of his suspension for his hit on Cernak in Game 1. … When asked if the Maple Leafs would have any lineup changes, Keefe replied, “Maybe,” but did not elaborate any further. … Eyssimont, a forward, participated in the Lightning morning skate Saturday, but is unlikely to play.
NHL.com independent correspondent Corey Long contributed to this report
