The Tampa Bay Lightning had their season end against the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Captain Victor Hedman and the Lightning put in a solid effort in the postseason. Unfortunately, it was not enough to see the team through to the second round of the playoffs.
Normally, we start hearing about injuries from eliminated teams once their seasons end. It’s no different with Tampa Bay in this series. Hedman confirmed to the media on Friday that he suffered a broken foot during Game 4 against the Panthers.
“Didn’t feel as bad during the game, but woke up the next day in throbbing pain,” Hedman said, via NHL.com’s Corey Long. “After a CT [scan] and MRI, I found out it was fractured. I had to try to keep hiding it from you guys (the media) and everyone else.”
It seemed as if the Lightning captain was in high spirits despite the injury. He won’t begin his usual offseason activities on time due to the foot issue. In saying this, he does expect to be ready for training camp in the fall.
“They say Viking blood heals faster,” the Lightning captain said, via Long. “So hopefully that’s the case for this one.”
Hedman certainly was not the only player on the Lightning to sustain an injury. Tampa did not have forward Oliver Bjorkstrand on the ice, for instance. Bjorkstrand dealt with left thigh compartment syndrome that he sustained before the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Tampa general manager Julien BriseBois confirmed. Others to sustain injuries are Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, and Nikita Kucherov.
The Lightning are going to take this summer to lick their wounds. The team is certainly hoping to return to the postseason in 2026. Perhaps they even want a rematch with the Panthers. Hopefully, each injured player can return to the ice in 2025-26 with no complications.
Lightning's Oliver Bjorkstrand Narrowly Avoids Career-Ending Injury Thanks to Emergency Overnight Surgery
Oliver Bjorkstrand missed the post-season for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now it's been revealed that he almost suffered a career-ending injury.
The Tampa Bay Lightning made a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline to acquire Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand, but ultimately it didn't end well, as the team was defeated in the first round by their rival Florida Panthers.
However, Bjorkstrand had much bigger things on his mind, as the Lightning officially revealed their injury report after that defeat, showing a laundry list of issues the team were going through in their five-game loss.
According to that report, a 2am trip to the emergency room may have saved Bjorkstrand's career, as he suffered from compartment syndrome and immediately needed to rush to the ER for surgery.
Compartment syndrome reportedly happens when there's too much pressure around your muscles, and can lead to reduced blood flow and oxygen to your muscles and nerves, something that could lead to much more serious medical issues down the line.
Thankfully, everything is going to be okay with the veteran forward, and while questions remain about the future of the Lightning after their latest defeat in the post-season, Bjorkstrand figures to be a key piece of their middle six moving forward after the trade.
Ultimately, it appears that Bjorkstrand will be able to get back on the ice and continue his career when the 2025/26 season begins, but if he hadn't of gotten this addressed, who knows what could have happened, so it's safe to say that he'd trade in those five games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to be able to continue his playing career beyond this year.
