Midway through the second period, I texted a friend of mine who was at Game Four and simply asked him, “How loud was the building when Sergy was introduced?”. His reply, “So loud you couldn’t hear Vasy being announced.”
So it was. In a bit of an emotional lift for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Mikhail Sergachev started Game Four against the Florida Panthers just 80 days after suffering two broken bones in his leg. The defenseman logged 17:03 of ice time, recorded one hit, two shot attempts, and set-up Brandon Hagel for the fourth Lightning goal of the game:
Not a bad day’s worth of work for any player, but even more impressive for someone who wasn’t supposed to be back on the ice for at least a couple of more weeks. After the game, Coach Jon Cooper talked about the lift the team (and the crowd) received from seeing the two-time Cup winner on the ice:
“All the guys on our bench got up. It was a stirring moment, and I though we carried that right into the first period.”
Steven Stamkos echoed his coach’s sentiment, telling the media that he got “chills” from the reception the crowd gave to his teammate.
Stamkos then spoke about the hard work that goes on behind the scene during a rehab.
For Sergachev, it was a return to normalcy after a vigorous rehab, “It felt great, the fans were loud for me, and I appreciate that a lot. I felt like a hockey player again.”
He found out on Friday that he had been cleared by the doctors and just had to wait on the coach’s decision. Coach Cooper said that he could tell Sergy was ready to go by the look in his eyes and penciled him into the starting line-up. Coop also spoke about the mental aspect of coming back from a gruesome injury. Bones heal with just a scar as a reminder, but trusting the body, and getting to the point where you can play without thinking about it can be tougher than the physical rehab needed to play at an elite level.
Skating on your own is one thing, and practicing with teammates is just a minor step above that. Trusting your body to take a hit from an opponent that has ill intent or stepping in front of a 90 MPH shot is a whole different level. Sergachev absorbed six hits in the game and blocked two shots. After a somewhat slow start to the game, he seemed to be close to his usual self over the final 40 minutes.
Sergachev’s inspiration was sitting next to him at the podium. He spoke about watching videos of Stamkos returning to the ice just four weeks after breaking his leg in 2013. He set a goal of making it back for Game One of the series, but didn’t receive clearance until the Bolts were down three games.
The Bolts needed not only the emotional spark of Sergachev’s return, but also his play. The blue line has been a bit banged up and added another member to the injured list as Darren Raddysh was unable to suit up for the game. Max Crozier filled in on the third pair with Emil Lilleberg while Sergachev was paired with Erik Cernak.
Raddysh’s absence also left a spot on the second power play unit, which Sergy filled, playing 1:01 of 5v4 time with one shot attempt (that just went wide and would have blown the roof off of the building if it had gone in). He did not play shorthanded as Victor Hedman, Matt Dumba, Cernak, and Lilleberg took up that ice time.
The big question will be how he feels today, and if there is anything that would prevent him from playing in Game Five. Coach Cooper seemed confident that his defender is over the biggest hump and should be available, while Sergachev said that he was fine and just a little tired. Which makes sense since this was his first full competitive game since December 16th. The game against the Rangers in February where he suffered the injury was his first since rehabbing a different injury that occurred in a game against the Blues.
Despite his willingness to gamble with the puck, the Lightning defense is better with him in it, and his return to the line-up allows Coach Cooper to get everyone back on their more comfortable sides of the ice after Nick Perbix and Matt Dumba spent some time playing on their off-hands. Is it enough to propel the Lightning to an unexpected upset? That we’ll have to wait and see.
