Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — A lingering injury to Victor Hedman’s elbow that’s ailed the Lightning captain for most of the past six weeks will sideline him until the beginning of February.

The veteran defenseman, who did not play Thursday at New Jersey after leaving Tuesday’s game in Montreal early, will have surgery on Monday. He has missed 13 of the past 16 games.

Head coach Jon Cooper said Hedman is expected to return on Feb. 1, which would ensure that he will be back in time to captain Sweden’s team in the Winter Olympics later that month in Italy.

“He’s our captain,” Cooper said Friday. “So the one thing that comes out of this is a little bit of certainty that we’re gonna get him back and he’s gonna have t

See Full Page