Lightning’s Victor Hedman ‘doubtful’ to return in first-round matchup against Canadiens

The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves in a 1-0 hole in their first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens, and it looks like they will have to find a way to battle back without their captain.

Speaking with the media ahead of Tuesday’s second game of the series, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters, including Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, that defenseman Victor Hedman is “doubtful” to return during the first round.

Hedman left the team in March for personal reasons, and he has not appeared in a game since a 6-2 win over Vancouver on March 19.

The veteran Swede took part in the Lightning’s optional morning skates both on Tuesday morning and Sunday morning ahead of Game 1, which Tampa Bay lost in overtime thanks to a hat trick by Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky.

While Cooper’s statement does not entirely close the door to the possibility that Hedman could return before the end of the series, it strikes a different tone from his pre-series comments.

“He’s slowly starting to get some ice time and stuff like that and get himself hopefully back,” Cooper said before the series.

The No. 2 overall pick from the 2009 NHL Draft appeared in just 33 games this regular season, scoring a goal and dishing out 16 assists for 17 points while skating to a minus-1 rating on an average of 18:52 of time on ice per game.

With Hedman limited, the Bolts have gotten monstrous contributions from newly-emerged standout defensemen like Darren Raddysh and Charle-Eduoard D’Astous, who have joined Ryan McDonagh, J.J. Moser and Erik Cernak to form what is still a formidable unit on the back end.

The Lightning did a good job of limiting Montreal’s chances in the first game, but the Habs were opportunistic, making Tampa pay for its mistakes and beating goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy when the opportunities presented themselves.

The puck drops at Benchmark International Arena for Game 2 at 7:00 PM Eastern Tuesday night, as the Bolts will look to avoid heading to Montreal in a 2-0 hole.