For Lightning fans, one of the moments from the 4 Nations Faceoff that stuck out — and at the time made them cringe — was when Sweden’s Victor Hedman reared back for a slap shot that Canada’s Anthony Cirelli attempted to block with his body during the opening game.
The play could have ended unfortunately for the Lightning had Hedman, who has one of the hardest shots in the game, hit Cirelli. But Cirelli was able to get his stick on the puck before taking the brunt of the shot.
“It was a good thing Tony blocked my shot with his stick and not his foot or hand or anything like that, because I did get a lot of wood on that one,” Hedman said Saturday after his first practice back with the Lightning. “But that just goes to show what guys do to try to win the tournament. And you can’t really think about who’s in my lane. I’m trying to score, and I’m trying to win the game.”
Though Sweden was knocked out of contention after dropping its first two round-robin games in overtime, Hedman, who captained the team, remembered the moment against Canada as being pivotal at the time.
The game was tied 3-3 late in the third period, and Hedman had an open shooting lane and a teammate in front screening the goaltender. He didn’t see Cirelli until he made contact with the puck. Canada eventually won the game in overtime.
“As I let it go, I look up and he’s right there in the lane and it deflects out of play,” Hedman said. “Right then, you’re pissed off it got blocked, because I really thought I had a chance of going in ... and that would have been a big goal for us.”
After a few recovery days — Sweden played its last game Monday — Hedman returned to the ice Saturday, shifting his focus to leading the Lightning back to the playoffs. Tampa Bay starts its final 27-game stretch of the regular season Sunday against Seattle at Amalie Arena.
Hedman, who has represented Sweden in 10 major international tournaments, recognized the impact of the 4 Nations Faceoff. A broader audience that doesn’t typically follow hockey or even sports in general took notice of the best-on-best international event.
“You look at one channel and it’s the NBA All-Star Game, and you go over to the next channel (the first U.S.-Canada matchup), you have three fights in the first nine seconds,” Hedman said. " I thought it was great for our game. .. Just one of the best hockey experiences I’ve had.
“... The anticipation before, it was kind of hard to know exactly where we would stand. But I think we blew it out of the water with the pace of play and just the quality of hockey that we got to see and experience.”
Though Hedman returned to practice, the four Lightning players in Thursday’s 4 Nations final — Canada’s Cirelli, Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point; and the United States’ Jake Guentzel — were given Saturday off. All are expected to play Sunday.
“Sometimes guys leaving those tournaments, they’re flying,” said Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern. “The speed and intensity of those games is so high that, you know, you’re hoping that they come back and their level is at the same pace and play.
“We would expect, especially those guys, nothing different. So, I don’t think we’ve really talked about specifics, other than those guys coming back and jumping right in.”
Even though Sweden didn’t advance to the final, Hedman played big minutes in three games, including 27:15 in the opening game against Canada on Feb. 12.
“I got a few extra days since we didn’t go to the final, but my body is built for playing a lot of minutes and I take great pride in that and don’t let them go to waste,” Hedman said. “So, I’m gonna bring the same intensity, the same everything, into the season.
“We’ve got some big games coming up and, you know, it’s going to be easy for us to flip the switch, I think, and carry that momentum. Hopefully, after that pace of play, we can push the pace here.”
