TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hedman hurt as Lightning fall to Senators in OT

The Associated Press

Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos collides with Ottawa's Alex Kovalev during the third period of Thursday's game, won by the Senators in overtime.

ADVERTISEMENT

By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 5, 2009

Updated: 11/06/2009 08:52 am

OTTAWA - That Tampa Bay lost a fifth overtime/shootout decision Thursday, this time 3-2 to the Senators on a Jason Spezza power-play goal with 42.4 seconds left in OT, turned out to be more of a sidebar to the Chris Neil sideshow.

Neil clocked rookie defenseman Victor Hedman on a questionable hit behind the Lightning end line with 5:48 left in the second period. As Hedman attempted to retrieve a loose puck in the left corner, Neil came charging around the net from the right side and without even looking at the puck or attempting to make a play for the puck, Neil charged right into Hedman while lifting an elbow into the rookie's jaw and knocking him straight backward onto the ice.

"It was a clean hit," Neil said. "I was just coming in to take the boards away, I had a good jump. I think (Hedman) bobbled the puck at the last second and he didn't see me coming. I got my shoulder right into his chest and he's like 8 feet tall (6-foot-6) so it's not like I could hit him in the head."

Although Hedman, who leads all rookies in ice time, was able to leave the ice under his own power, he did not return to the game and his status for Saturday's game in Montreal is questionable.

"I think he's OK, but it's going to be day-to-day, upper-body type thing," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said. "We'll evaluate him throughout (today)."

Steve Downie immediately came to Hedman's defense and received an instigator penalty on the play in addition to a fighting major. Neil, meanwhile, only received a fighting call.

Neil has developed a reputation around the league as a dirty player and cheap-shot artist.

"He's not the cleanest player," Downie said. "He's the one preaching about dirtiness after every time you fight him, calling players gutless and it's the same thing when he does things like that. He called me gutless after he got me in the preseason, but he's got to look in the mirror."

With a hit like this taking place so close to a junior hit on Kitchener's Ben Fanelli, who remains in a hospital in serious but stable condition, that resulted in a suspension to Michael Liambas for the rest of the season, Neil's hit on Hedman is something Zenon Konopka said the NHL office should take a long look at.

"For me, I didn't like the hit and there should be some kind of repercussions, and that's up to the league, that's their job," the center said. "Obviously this is like a brother to me, and we're upset that this kid puts his heart on the line every night, and protects himself, too, and it's a big loss for us. We feel in our hearts, not just on the ice."

As far as the game, the Lightning had stretches in which they struggled to clear the puck out of their zone, especially early in the game. After taking a 1-0 lead on an Alex Tanguay power-play goal, the Senators scored twice to take the lead with eight minutes left in the second period.

But Steven Stamkos scored his 12th of the season, and sixth on the power play, to tie Dany Heatley for the league lead and tie the game at 13:40 of the second.

Ottawa had a pair of goals waved off in the final four minutes of the game, but finally cashed in when Spezza ripped a slap shot from the right circle with Mattias Ohlund in the penalty box for holding.

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT