Tampa Bay, with Swedish back star Victor Hedman, lost the fifth round of 16 in the Stanley Cup playoffs against Florida, thus playing its last game of the season.
Now the question is whether Hedman will play the WC with Tre Kronor.
Before the playoffs, Victor Hedman was asked about WC games by TT. Then it didn’t sound at all impossible that he could come to the Czech Republic and give the Swedish national team a huge boost.
– There is always a chance. As long as you feel fit and able to contribute to a national team, it’s always tempting to join, said Hedman.
A total of 14 NHL players, including back-up stars Rasmus Dahlin and Erik Karlsson, have already given the go-ahead for WC games with Tre Kronor in May.
Goal by Hedman
Victor Hedman’s Tampa Bay had the knife at their throats and an early holiday dangerously close when the fifth meeting between the teams got underway in Florida.
The first period was even and ended 0–0 after the teams delivered seven shots each on goal.
In the second period, Florida quickly picked up the pace and led after just over twelve minutes played with 2-0 after goals by Carter Verhaege and Aleksander Barkov, the latter played by Sweden’s Gustav Forsling.
But just over a minute later, hope was raised for Tampa Bay when Victor Hedman reduced it to 2-1, which lasted the period.
It didn’t get any more fun than that for Tampa, though. In the third period, Florida scored four goals in just over seven minutes and nailed the final score to 6–1.
That meant they won the best-of-seven match series 4–1 and are through to the quarter-finals.
Dallas equalized
In the quarterfinals, Florida faces the winner of the Round of 16 series between Boston and Toronto, which Boston leads 3–1 in games.
Another round of 16 was played during the night between Vegas and Dallas. The match ended with an away win for Dallas with 4–2 and this means that it is now 2–2 between the teams in the match series.
The match series will be decided in the best of seven games:
Carolina–New York Islanders, 3–1 in games.
Boston–Toronto, 3–1.
Florida–Tampa Bay, 4–1. Florida further.
New York Rangers–Washington, 4–0. Rangers on.
Winnipeg–Colorado, 1–3.
Vancouver–Nashville, 3–1.
Dallas–Vegas, 2–2.
Edmonton–Los Angeles, 3–1.
TT NEWS AGENCY
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