Hedman finds offensive spark for Lightning
No National Hockey League defenceman had recorded a point streak of at least eight post-season games in more than two decades before Tuesday night, when Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman crossed that threshold with two deft passes on power plays. Both assists were one-timed into the net to set the tone in the Lightning’s 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final, but it wasn’t until Hedman scored a third unanswered goal that Tampa Bay had slammed the door on the possibility of falling into a 3-0 series deficit.
Scoring a point in eight straight games, which hadn’t been done since Pittsburgh’s Larry Murphy did it all the way back in 1995, appeared to carry little significance for Hedman on Tuesday night. It felt better to know that he had given his team more production on both ends, including on the penalty kill, as Washington went 0-for-3 on power play opportunities. “For me, it’s about being effective on all ends of the ice, and trying to be a difference-maker every time I step on it,” Hedman said.
But Hedman’s goal, aside from pulling the Lightning back into the series after losing the first two games on their home ice last weekend, was also the latest sign of an offensive awakening for a player who didn’t even score a point in Tampa Bay’s first round series win over New Jersey.
He also hadn’t scored a goal in these playoffs before Tuesday night, when he found himself charging through Washington’s defensive zone and tapping his stick on the ice, hungry for the puck.
Hedman had already set up two power play goals.
The first was a one-timer by captain Steven Stamkos, who beat Washington goaltender Braden Holtby top-shelf with just over six minutes remaining in the first period; the second assist went to Nikita Kucherov, who rocketed his slap shot past Holtby just less than two minutes into the second period.
“I’m put in that position to produce, and I put that pressure on myself to do. Today was one of those games,” Hedman said. “When you feed pucks to (Kucherov) and (Stamkos), pucks are going to go in.”
Kucherov returned the favour less than two minutes later, finding Hedman as he crossed the blue line and scored on a wide open net. It was his first goal since Tampa Bay’s second-to-last regular season game on April 6, and it signified — at least for a night — that Tampa Bay had found itself after struggling to score in the first two games of the series.
Hedman might be the favourite to win the Norris Trophy, given to the league’s top defenceman, but it was his presence that helped spur Tampa Bay’s offence Tuesday.
Hedman said his mentality wouldn’t change after scoring his first goal of the playoffs, which comes after he set a career-high with 17 goals during the regular season.
That tied him for the most among defenceman in the league and helped him secure his second consecutive 60-point season, a first in franchise history.