The Stanley Cup Playoffs are testing both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens in unexpected ways this season, as each team navigates a first-round series without one of their top defensive anchors.
The Lightning are managing without captain Victor Hedman, who stepped away from the team on March 25 for personal reasons and is not expected to suit up in this series. Meanwhile, the Canadiens lost right-hand defenceman Noah Dobson to an upper-body injury announced April 12, with the team announcing a two-week re-evaluation timeline.
For Tampa Bay, the absence is not entirely unfamiliar territory. Hedman missed 49 regular-season games between injuries and his personal leave, forcing the organization to develop depth along the blue line. That adversity has created an unexpected silver lining: the emergence of the J.J. Moser-Darren Raddysh pairing, which arguably became the NHL's most dominant defensive duo during the regular season.
The numbers tell a compelling story. Moser and Raddysh posted an expected-goal rate of 61.6 per cent—the best among 46 pairs that logged at least 500 minutes at five-on-five play. The Lightning outscored opponents 47-30 during those stretches, and that territorial dominance has translated seamlessly into the playoffs. Through their time together against Montreal, they've generated 61.9 per cent of expected goals.
The momentum reached new heights on Tuesday when Moser scored an overtime winner—his first career playoff goal and the first OT winner in Lightning franchise history by a defenceman.
Raddysh has been equally impressive. His 96 shots clocking at least 90 miles per hour during the regular season led the entire league by 45 shots. He's already unleashed five such high-velocity attempts against Montreal, including a power-play bomb in Game 1 that registered at 92.8 m.p.h.
Montreal Scrambles Without Key Defence Piece
The Canadiens faced a far more challenging situation. Dobson's injury struck during the 80th game of the season, leaving Montreal with limited time to adjust its defensive structure. With only one other right-handed defenceman on the roster, the team has been forced to slot Alexandre Carrier alongside Mike Matheson as its primary shutdown pairing.
Carrier has stepped up admirably, winning critical board battles that have led to offensive opportunities. During the regular season, he averaged 5.64 puck-battle wins per 60 minutes—ranking 19th among defencemen who played at least 500 minutes.
"It's everybody's job to give a little more," Carrier told reporters. "But I know I'm the only right-handed defenceman while Dobson's out."
The challenge for Montreal's defensive corps is significant. Carrier and Matheson have been out-attempted 29-12 at five-on-five against Tampa's elite forwards, though they've kept scoring chances relatively tight at 7-3 in the Lightning's favour. They've split their ice time fairly evenly between Nikita Kucherov's line and Brandon Hagel's second line.
Lane Hutson has emerged as Montreal's workhorse, averaging 30:30 of ice time across two overtime games—the most puck-possession time of any player in the series at 6:59. His partnership with Kaiden Guhle has struggled slightly, posting a 41.3 expected-goals-for percentage against Tampa Bay's top forwards.
Montreal's best defensive pairing has been Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj, who have absolutely dominated their sheltered minutes against Tampa's third and fourth lines, outshooting opponents 24-9 at five-on-five.
Youth and Resilience Define Montreal's Response
Despite the defensive shuffle, Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis has praised his young team's resolve and competitive spirit. "It's important that, collectively, all our defencemen step up, and I think they have," St. Louis told reporters Wednesday. "You just notice (Hutson) more because he's on the ice more often."
The Canadiens coach expressed confidence in his squad's overall game plan, even after losing Game 2 in overtime. "We battled hard. We competed. We controlled a lot of the game, just lost it. But it's there. I'm very confident in how we want to play and the thoughts behind our intentions and the courage we're showing."
This article is based on reporting from Sportsnet. Read the original story.