Sergachev’s return from damaged leg boosts Lightning to Sport 4 win – NHL.com

Defenseman has help in 1st recreation again after breaking tibia, fibula Feb. 7
© Wealthy Storry/Getty Photographs
TAMPA — The excitement inside Amalie Area began about 35 minutes earlier than puck drop.
Mikhail Sergachev, who hadn’t performed a recreation for the Tampa Bay Lightning since breaking his tibia and fibula on Feb. 7, was on the ice, in uniform, clearly able to play in a do-or-die Jap Convention First Spherical Sport 4 in opposition to the Florida Panthers.
When he was introduced as a member of the beginning lineup seconds earlier than the sport started, the cheers grew even louder.
And after the Lightning had secured a 6-3 win to avoid wasting their season and ship the collection again to Amerant Financial institution Area for Sport 5 on Monday (7 p.m. ET; BSSUN, BSFL, ESPN, SN, TVAS), everybody related to the Lightning talked concerning the elevate having the 25-year-old defenseman again within the lineup gave them.
“Positive did. I sort of obtained chills simply from the reception,” captain Steven Stamkos mentioned. “You guys don’t see what goes on behind the scenes, the quantity of labor that goes into getting back from an damage like that.
“It’s extraordinarily spectacular, every thing he’s performed and to go on the market and play and bounce right into a collection after we have been down and on the ropes, it was an enormous increase for our workforce. I believed he performed excellent tonight and hopefully he continues to try this as a result of he’s a giant a part of our protection.”
R1, Gm4: Panthers @ Lightning Recap
Lightning coach Jon Cooper mentioned the reception Sergachev obtained from the followers when he was introduced within the beginning lineup was one thing he had by no means heard earlier than.
“In a standard introduction, you hear the gamers’ names, there’s a cheer, then it will get to (goalie Andrei) Vasilevskiy and there’s a cheer,” Cooper mentioned. “I couldn’t hear the PA man say Vasilevskiy’s title. The roar simply saved happening, so all the blokes on our bench obtained out, it was a stirring second and I believed we carried that into the primary interval.”
For Sergachev, the second was a very long time coming, 80 days to be precise, since he was stretchered off the ice at Madison Sq. Backyard. That recreation on the New York Rangers was his first since he missed 17 video games due to a lower-body damage.
He mentioned he came upon Friday he could be within the lineup.
“It was a coach’s determination, so I stayed on the rink somewhat longer ready for the coach to say sure or no. And he mentioned sure,” Sergachev mentioned. “I used to be very excited. Actually, I couldn’t sleep final evening. It felt like my first NHL recreation once more. And then you definitely go on the ice and get that from the followers, within the warmup, it made me very emotional and I’m simply grateful to be right here.”
Cooper mentioned he wasn’t a lot involved about Sergachev bodily, however slightly if he was mentally able to get again into the lineup.
“The physique is an incredible factor as a result of the physique heals. It’s a psychological hurdle you must recover from,” Cooper mentioned. “And in some unspecified time in the future, you’re going to play a recreation. And it’s not like we are able to sit right here and say we’re going to place him in a regular-season recreation earlier than a playoff recreation, he’s going to need to step right into a playoff recreation.
“You’ll be able to inform when a participant is prepared and when a participant shouldn’t be prepared. And yesterday, we knew he was prepared. I simply needed to verify the field right now when he confirmed up right now as a result of I’ve seen it time and time once more, it’s the look within the eye. And he was a believer.”
Whereas Sergachev was sitting subsequent to Stamkos through the postgame press convention, he thanked the Lightning captain for uplifting him to come back again. It was on Nov. 11, 2013, when Stamkos broke his leg in Boston crashing into the web. He was again on the ice on March 6, about 4 months later.
“I wish to thank ‘Stammer,’ as a result of he broke his leg and Mikey our coach was exhibiting me movies of Stammer skating like 4 weeks after,” Sergachev mentioned. “And you recognize, that sort of pushed me and made me work as a result of these first 4 weeks after the damage it was powerful.
“However you recognize, seeing these movies of him strolling like just about the following day and doing all of that stuff sort of helped.”
Sergachev didn’t simply present an emotional elevate. He assisted on Brandon Hagel’s aim that gave Tampa Bay a 4-1 lead at 9:40 of the second interval and had one blocked shot in 17:03 of ice time.
FLA@TBL R1, Gm4: Sergachev, Hagel workforce as much as lengthen the lead
That efficiency you’ll be able to measure in numbers. The emotional elevate he offered?
“If you get the most effective defensemen within the League again in your lineup, it’s going to offer everybody somewhat little bit of bounce, and it did that tonight,” Hagel mentioned.
Sergachev’s return and the Lightning ending a six-game house Stanley Cup Playoff shedding streak appeared to offer them some much-needed vitality after they’d misplaced the primary three video games of this collection.
“It’s removed from over,” Hagel mentioned. “We all know it’s only a interval at a time, recreation at a time, can’t look forward.”
🔹 Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
🔹 Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
🔹 New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals
🔹 Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders
🔹 Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights
🔹 Winnipeg Jets vs. Colorado Avalanche
🔹 Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators
🔹 Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings

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