Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman is scheduled to undergo elbow surgery on Monday. Hedman was placed on injured reserve prior to Thursday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, two days after exiting a matchup in Montreal early in the first period. He logged just 6:14 of ice time before leaving the game. The procedure addresses the same injury that initially sidelined Hedman on Nov. 8. His brief return this week marked only his third game back. He is expected to return Feb. 1, just in time to represent Team Sweden at the Olympics in Milan. In a counter move, the Lightning recalled Declan Carlile from the Syracuse Crunch. Carlile, 25, has skated in ten games with the Lightning this season, recording one goal with a plus-3 rating. © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/6300d1be-d170-4fe2-80d1-64ad34311365.jpeg] © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images The Lightning continue to navigate a difficult stretch of injuries, while defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak, along with goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, all remain on injured reserve. Cernak did not travel with the team, while Vasilevskiy returned to practice this week, taking what head coach Jon Cooper called “a good step forward”. Although he won’t be available for Saturday’s matchup against the New York Islanders, he could be an option as early as Monday night against the Florida Panthers. McDonagh also took part in practice and is considered to be getting closer to a return.
