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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
Mikhail Sergachev‘s return sparked the host Tampa Bay Lightning, who avoided elimination with a 6-3 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of their first-round series on Saturday.
One of the Lightning’s top defenseman had been out since fracturing the tibia and fibula in his left leg on Feb. 7. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper had predicted the Lightning would need to “go far” in the playoffs to see Sergachev dress for another game. Sergachev surpassed all expectations by suiting up just 80 days following that break to be a last-minute addition to the Lightning’s starters.
“I felt like a hockey player again. It was unbelievable,” Sergachev said. “I found out yesterday the [doctors] cleared me, and it was Coach [Cooper’s] decision [if I played]. I stayed at the rink a little longer waiting for the coach to say yes or no. And he said yes. I got very excited.”
Sergachev had hoped he’d be able to come back for Game 1 of the series but that didn’t pan out. Instead, he logged 17:03 in ice time and notched an assist on Brandon Hagel‘s second-period goal in his Saturday debut. Sergachev admitted to being “a little bit tired” in the end after so long on the sidelines. But Sergachev’s smile never wavered.
Even though he’s played nearly 500 NHL games since being drafted by Montreal ninth overall in 2016 and established himself as one of the league’s rising stars on defense, there were still a few butterflies present before Saturday’s game.
“Honestly, I couldn’t really sleep last night; it felt like my first NHL game again,” Sergachev said. “And then you go on the ice, and you get that [reception] from the fans in the warmup — it made me very emotional. I’m thankful to be here.”
The Lightning are grateful to be alive in their series, too. Tampa Bay — still trailing Florida 3-1 — narrowly avoided being swept by its in-state rivals. The Lightning held a 3-0 lead after the first period but the Panthers roared back to cut the deficit to 4-3 after 40 minutes. However, Tampa Bay scored the game’s final two goals to extend the series.
Tampa Bay finally found its footing offensively. The Lightning exploded up front, led by two-goal performances from Steven Stamkos and Hagel and a three-point effort by Brayden Point. The Lightning power play also had its best showing of the postseason, going 2-for-5.
Stamkos credited Sergachev’s return for adding emotional energy to the group before the puck dropped.
“I got chills myself, with the reception he got,” Stamkos said. “The amount of work that goes into coming back from an injury like that, it’s impressive. The timeline is impressive, everything he’s done is extremely impressive. To go out there and jump into a series when we’re down and on the ropes, it was a huge boost for our team. I thought Sergy played outstanding tonight. Hopefully that continues because he’s a big part of our defense for sure.”
Sergachev in turn thanked Stamkos for providing much-needed inspiration from Stamkos’ recovery from a broken leg in 2013.
“Our trainer was showing me videos of Stammer skating like four weeks after [that injury],” Sergachev said. “That kind of pushed me and made me work because the first four weeks since the injury, it was tough mentally. But seeing those videos of him walking pretty much the next day and doing all that stuff kind of helped.”
It wasn’t easy for Sergachev to be back on the injured list. That February game marked Sergachev’s first night back from a previous lower-body injury that held him out of 17 contests. Sergachev was admittedly devasted to see his entire season halted at just 34 games, with two goals and 17 assists. And clearly he was missed, not only by the Lightning players but the fans who welcomed him back warmly.
“Did you hear the introduction? The roar just kept going on,” Cooper said. “All the guys on our bench got up. It was a stirring moment and I thought we carried that right into the first period.”
Cooper had no hesitation either inserting Sergachev immediately into an elimination game. Regardless of Sergachev potentially being rusty — or the high stakes at hand — Cooper knew his defenseman was a lock for the lineup.
“You can tell when a player is ready and when a player is not ready,” Cooper said. “Yesterday, we knew he was ready. I just wanted to check the box today when he showed up. I’ve seen it time and time again. It’s the look in the eye. He was a believer.”
Tampa Bay will continue to believe as well that its playoff run won’t end in Monday’s Game 5 — especially not with Sergachev now along for the ride.
“It was phenomenal,” defenseman Victor Hedman said of having Sergachev in the mix. “We’ve watched from close up how hard he’s worked to get to this day. Super impressed by the way he played. Big momentum boost for the guys. It’s huge.”
Source: www.espn.com