The Lightning will take on the Montreal Canadiens on Friday in Game 3 of their first-round series, and they’ll likely do so without defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous.
D’Astous was injured in Game 1 while chasing a loose puck behind his own net. He was hit simultaneously by two Montreal forwards, with Jake Evans making contact from the front while Josh Anderson came in from behind with a hard hit that sent him down to the ice.
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The 28-year old defenseman needed help from teammates as he made his way down the tunnel and did not return to the game. He was on the ice late Friday with the team’s expected scratches during optional morning skate, an indication he will be out for Game 3. Declan Carlile made his NHL postseason debut for Game 2 alongside Emil Lilleberg and logged 17:38 in the win. He is expected to be back in the lineup.
Captain Victor Hedman also joined the team on the road trip and has been back on the ice skating, an encouraging sign for the Lightning
As the series shifts to the Bell Centre, the environment is expected to be intense from the opening puck drop, with both teams so evenly matched that the margin for error remains razor thin.
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“This group, we know the task that is at hand,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Friday morning. “We know the environment is going to be great. I’m a big believer in embracing the environment. The dimensions of the rink don’t change, the amount of players on each team don’t change, and the fans, that’s part of the environment, so embrace it.”
“The atmosphere can work for you and against you. So just depending on how the game is going, and fans get nervous, too. Like, you can feel it. I’m not just saying this is the only place. I’ve felt it in Tampa, I feel it in other places. So I truly believe the team on the ice can dictate the emotions of what goes on in games. There’s a lot of emotions that are tied up in the game, and so that’s kind of what makes the game fun.”
Montreal is expected to roll with the same lineup they used in Games 1 and 2.
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Gage Goncalves — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Jake Guentzel
Zemgus Girgensons — Yanni Gourde — Nick Paul
Corey Perry — Dominic James – Scott Sabourin
J.J. Moser — Darren Raddysh
Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak
Declan Carlile — Emil Lilleberg
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
Scratched: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Conor Geekie, Max Crozier, Brandon Halverson, Victor Hedman
Injured: Pontus Holmberg, Charle-Edouard D’Astous
Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
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Alexandre Texier — Alex Newhook — Ivan Demidov
Zachary Bolduc — Oliver Kapanen — Kirby Dach
Jake Evans — Phillip Danault – Josh Anderson
Mike Matheson — Alexandre Carrier
Kaiden Guhle — Lane Hutson
Jayden Struble — Arber Xhekaj
Jakub Dobes
Jacob Fowler
Scratched: Brendan Gallagher, Joe Veleno, Adam Engstrom, David Reinbacher
Injured: Patrik Laine, Noah Dobson
