TAMPA, Fla. — Without two of its top weapons, the Lightning power play has been a work in progress. But even when Tampa Bay has the luxury of Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, the man-advantage is at its best when defenseman Victor Hedman is putting pucks on net from up top.
Working their way back from injuries, Kucherov and Point were practicing the power play on their own before one of this week’s practices. They’re of no help in games quite yet.
That means more of the load is on Hedman, especially to take attention away from Steven Stamkos in the left circle. And Hedman took charge on the power play Thursday against the Ottawa Senators, scoring the go-ahead goal with the man-advantage in a 2-1 win at Amalie Arena.
After scoring just three goals in his first 21 games, Hedman’s second-period goal was his fourth in the past eight. The Lightning needed it to bolster a power play that was 2 for 19 dating back to Dec. 4 at Boston.
Hedman, who also assisted on the Lightning’s first goal, had his third multi-point game in his past eight games.
It came as a result of some relentless play for the puck that gave the power-play unit extended zone time it had been struggling to attain.
Taylor Raddysh and Stamkos battled for the puck against the near wall, and Raddysh was able to kick it out to Hedman waiting along the wall at the blue line. Hedman faked a slap shot, buying him space to unleash a shot from the top of the circles, from where he beat Ottawa goaltender Anton Forsberg.
Stamkos received the secondary assist on the goal, giving him his 900th career point. He became just the second player in Lightning history to reach that milestone, following franchise scoring leader Martin St. Louis (953 points).
