Defenceman Victor Hedman is taking part in Tampa Bay’s optional skate this morning ahead of Game 2 against the Montreal Canadiens but HC Jon Cooper says Hedman returning is on “the doubtful side for this series.
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NHL Notebook: Flyers’ additions are dominating, Hedman unlikely to see first round, and more
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Apr 21, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 21, 2026, 17:04 EDT
The Philadelphia Flyers are shocking the hockey world with their dominance over the Pittsburgh Penguins through the first two games of their playoff series.
Much of this success stems from the result of a successful off-season that had Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, Porter Martone, Dan Vladar, and Rick Tocchet arrive in Philadelphia.
The Flyers have outscored the Penguins 6-2 in two games opening the series and have overlapped their regular-season defensive dominance with their start to the postseason. This has limited the Penguins to just 45 shots in two games.
Among these 45 shots against, their goaltender has come up with 43 saves and is currently rocking a .955 save percentage. Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco wrote about the impact of Vladar on the Flyers’ success this season.
Then there’s goaltender Dan Vladar, who has been a knight in shining armor as the Flyers’ MVP this season. Signed as a free agent away from the Calgary Flames, the 28 year old finally got a real crack at being a number one goalie after playing years behind Tuukka Rask with the Boston Bruins and Jacob Markstrom and Dustin Wolf with the Flames; needless to say, he has not disappointed. After 15 months of the league’s worst goaltending, Vladar’s addition has been a more than welcomed one for a goaltending-starved Flyers team.Vladar has not had to be spectacular through much of the series, just having to ‘’do his job’’ while the Flyers play suffocating defense in front of him. That was until the third period of Monday’s game, when the Penguins finally broke through and launched 13 shots Vladar’s way. To say he was fantastic in the final stanza of game two would be an understatement, as Vladar lived up to his persona as the Flyers’ most important player by blanking the Penguins for his first shutout of the season.
Goaltending is not the only area that has seen dramatic improvement from the off-season acquisitions by the Flyers. Porter Martone, who was drafted sixth overall last summer, has already made an impact on his NHL club. Between the regular season and playoffs, Martone has played 11 games and posted six goals and 12 points, providing his team with a goal in each of the first two games of his playoff career. His linemate, Christian Dvorak, has also been pivotal in the success of the Flyers this season.
Dvorak has rounded out the centre group that has been lacklustre for the Flyers and has played the most ice time of any centreman in the series to this point. He’s collected two assists in the opening games of the series and has a plus-3 rating as a 200-foot player that has shone brightly in Philadelphia.
Another addition to the Flyers’ centre group is Trevor Zegras, who has transitioned from being a left winger, and has seen great improvement in his impact on the team since the initial growing pains wore off. His ability to play as a centre has provided Tocchet with more options down the middle and real depth to allow them to continue their dominance over this series.
Speaking of Tocchet, his impact on the defensive side of the Flyers’ play has locked this team in as a real threat. Despite the lack of consistent offence and an overall unappealing structure, he has coached this team to being the fourth-best defensive team in the league, based on expected goals against per 60 minutes.
The restructuring of the Flyers’ roster has proven to be extremely successful, and while they don’t have anything to show for it yet, the organization’s management has something to be proud of with the squad that they have assembled.
Hedman doubtful for the remainder of the first round
Not only did the Tampa Bay Lightning lose to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1, but they’re also facing the harsh possibility of continuing their first-round matchup without their captain, Victor Hedman.
Head coach Jon Cooper announced Tuesday morning that Hedman is “doubtful” to rejoin the team at any point during the first round. The veteran defenseman’s last game was on March 19 against the Vancouver Canucks before leaving the team for personal reasons.
Hedman has been skating with the team, meaning the door is not completely closed on the possibility of him seeing ice time in this series.
According to Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Kuehl, Cooper had originally been pessimistic about Hedman’s status before the beginning of the series, saying, “He’s slowly starting to get some ice time and stuff like that and get himself hopefully back.”
In the absence of the Lightning’s most established defenceman, up-and-coming defensemen like Darren Raddysh and Charle-Edouard D’Astous have done well to fill in the monstrous-sized shoes that Hedman typically wears for the team.
The loss for the Lightning was not without contest, but the game was highlighted by the Canadiens’ capitalizing on their limited chances – including Juraj Slafkovsky shining with a hat trick, capped off by an overtime winner.
Game 2 between the Bolts and the Habs is set for 5:00 p.m. MT on Tuesday night, as the Lightning hope to savour their home ice advantage with a 1-1 series split.
Kovalchuk in the KHL
Former NHL superstar Ilya Kovalchuk is taking on a new role in Russia as the president of the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons.
The Shanghai Dragons have announced changes to the club’s organizational structure. A new position of President has been introduced, with Ilya Kovalchuk appointed to the role. 📰 Read more: hc-dragons.com/en/news/ilya-k…
Kovalchuk has not served as an executive for a hockey club since the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where he was the general manager of the Russian Olympic Committee. His team went home with a silver medal in the tournament, losing to Finland in the gold medal game.
The last time Kovalchuk was seen in the hockey sphere before being named president of the Dragons was when he had a brief stint with Spartak Moscow in the KHL as a player.
Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Kuehl wrote about Kovalchuk’s statements in a release following the announcement.
“I’m excited to become part of the Dragons family,” Kovalchuk said in a release. “We have an exciting journey ahead of us. There will be significant changes in our sporting approach, and we will continue to actively engage with our fans. We look forward to seeing all of you next season in Saint Petersburg at SKA Arena.”Kovalchuk’s first order of business was hiring former NHLer and Vegas Golden Knights European scout Evgeny Artyukhin as the team’s new general manager, relieving Igor Varitsky of his duties.“Evgeny knows the game from the inside and brings a wealth of experience,” Kovalchuk said. “The Vegas Golden Knights have been one of the most successful organizations in recent years, and his time there allowed him not only to gain valuable insight into the North American market, but also to learn best practices in team building and management. He has built strong relationships both in Russia and across North America. I wish him the best of luck and am confident he will help elevate our hockey operations to the level we are striving for.”
Kovalchuk played nearly 1,000 NHL games, most with the Atlanta Thrashers, who drafted him first overall in the 2001 draft. He would play 594 games in Atlanta, scoring 328 goals and 615 points, before stints with the New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, and the Washington Capitals. Across 926 career games, he scored 443 goals and 876 points.
In 2010, he left the Thrashers to sign a massive 15-year, $100 million deal with the Devils. During the lockout in 2012-13, Kovalchuk played 36 games in the KHL with St. Petersburg SKA, and then returned to the Devils for 37 games that year.
On July 11, 2013, he voluntarily retired from the NHL, voiding the final 12 years and $77 million of his monstrous and controversial contract. In the KHL, he won the Gagarin Cup twice with St. Petersburg SKA, and was a two-time KHL All-Star. When he returned to the NHL in 2018-19, it was for the Los Angeles Kings on a three-year deal.
The Kings put him on waivers in 2019, and he was picked up by the Montreal Canadiens for 22 games where he got 13 points. He was then flipped to the Washington Capitals, where he played seven games to close out his time in the NHL.
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