By Canadian Press

Lightning’s Hedman shifts focus to captaining Sweden: ‘Time to flip the switch’

Feb 9, 2025 | 5:00 PM

MONTREAL — Victor Hedman didn’t plan to celebrate the Tampa Bay Lightning’s winning streak with head coach Jon Cooper on Sunday night.

Hedman’s focus has shifted to captaining Sweden with the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament getting underway Wednesday in Montreal.

And Cooper, who will serve as Canada’s head coach, has quickly turned from friend to foe.

“No, it’s over now,” Hedman quipped after he was asked about grabbing dinner with Cooper following Tampa’s 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

“It’s time to flip the switch, go see the Swedish guys tonight and watch the Super Bowl and get ready for practice (Monday).”

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The Lightning won their fourth game in a row ahead of the NHL’s two-week break for the best-on-best tournament between Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States in Montreal and Boston.

All four teams take the ice for their first practices Monday. Canada plays Sweden to open the tournament on Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.

The Lightning will have several players at the event. Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point join Cooper on Canada, while Jake Guentzel plays for the United States and Hedman leads the Swedes.

“It’s exciting,” Hedman said. “We know it’s going to be hard, you look at all the teams, there’s going to be a superstar on the ice at any given time.”

Point is happy the moment has finally arrived after being one of the first six players named to Canada’s roster back on June 28.

“I think now we can think of it,” Point said. “Played (Hedman) before in the world championships, and it’s always fun to play against your teammates. It’s going to be exciting, I’m really looking forward to it.”

While Point and Hedman happily fielded questions about the tournament, Cooper declined to answer anything unrelated to the Lightning’s win on Sunday even though the status of forward Sidney Crosby remains uncertain.

The Canadian captain missed his last two games with an upper-body injury before the NHL break. TSN reported that Crosby travelled to Montreal on Sunday, but whether or not he’ll be able to play is still unclear.

“Hopefully he’s ready to go,” Point said. “I haven’t heard too much of anything, but obviously a big part of our team.”

HABS STUMBLING

A break might be exactly what the Canadiens need.

Montreal has struggled in recent weeks, losing eight of its last nine games after being one of the NHL’s hottest teams from mid-December to mid-January.

When the Canadiens beat the Lightning on Jan. 21, they climbed into an Eastern Conference wild-card spot with their 13th win in 17 games. They also moved within one point of Tampa Bay for third place in the Atlantic Division.

But now Montreal is six points outside the playoffs, 11 points behind the Lightning and heading toward a fourth straight season as a trade deadline seller.

Head coach Martin St. Louis, however, believes his group should still have belief.

“I think they know what they’re capable of, I’m not going to beg and convince (them), ‘Hey, we’re OK, keep going,’” he said. “No, it comes with the individual, I think everybody needs a break now.

“We’ll address what we need to address when we get back together, but I don’t think I need to convince my players to keep fighting.”

The Canadiens (25-26-5) return to action with a road game against the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 22. They have 26 games remaining this season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2025.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press