Lightning’s Victor Herman out day-to-day with lower-body injury

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that defenseman Victor Hedman will not play in Saturday’s game against the Utah Mammoth and will be day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Hedman left Friday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche after he took one shift in the second period and did not return. The team did not provide a reason for his absence during the game, and head coach Jon Cooper didn’t bring Hedman up during his post-game media availability.

Hedman skated for only one shift in the second period and did not come out for the final frame. He finished the night with 5:56 of ice time and the Lightning lost 6-3.

Through his first nine games, Hedman has two goals and two assists for four points. Now in his 18th NHL season, the 35-year-old native of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, has 174 goals and 641 assists for 815 points in 1,174 career NHL games.

Hedman also has 23 goals and 97 assists for 120 points in 170 career playoff games. He led the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and 2022.

He won the Norris Trophy for the league’s top defender in 2018 and the Conn Smythe Trophy for Playoff MVP in 2020.

The Lightning are 7-3-0 through their first 10 games of 2026-27. Forwards Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov are tied with a team-leading 13 points, while Andrei Vasilevskiy is 5-2-0 with an .884 save percentage.