We chatted about the forwards earlier today so lets take a look at how the Tampa Bay Lightning will line up against the Montreal Canadiens. Well, at least how we believe they will line-up. There are some question marks, none bigger than the status of captain Victor Hedman. Unlike the forward corps, where there is some doubt about which line will get the assignment against the Nick Suzuki line.

Also, unlike the forward lines, there has been some consistency to the defensive pairings. Until Coach Jon Cooper started to rest a couple of his players at the end of the season, the six defenders have pretty much been the same since Hedman left the line-up in early March. Speaking of Hedman, there was, well, not an update exactly, but the team did release a little more information after practice on Saturday.

Coach Cooper was asked about his captain and responded with,

““Vic’s been around us. He’s slowly starting to get some ice time and stuff like that and get himself, hopefully, back. We love having him around, because he’s our captain and he’s a wealth of experience. He’s going to be with us on this trip.”

He further explained,

““As we all know, he’s going to be with us, probably not available right now. And it’s playoff time, so we keep those things close to the vest.”

So, we know that Hedman has been skating, even if it’s not been at practice with the Lightning and he has been with the team. It looks like he plans to travel to Montreal with the team later in the week for Games Three and Four, but is unlikely to play. If this progresses in a similar fashion as other player absences, the next step will be for Hedman to start skating by himself during or right after practice or during the morning skates. From there it’s just a matter of getting him back into the rotation. With no knowledge of the situation it’s still hard to pin down an exact return date, so it’s probably best to assume he’s not going to play against the Canadiens.

It does appear that everyone else on the blueline is good to go. Declan Carlile and Max Crozier were skating together as a pair at practice and should be available if someone gets hurt or if Coach Cooper wants to go 11/7 at some point. Now that we’ve wrapped up who isn’t playing, let’s take a look at who is in the line-up.

J.J. Moser – Darren Raddysh

Time on Ice Together: 882 minutes

Goals Against Per 60: 2.04

Expected Goals Against: 2.50

Scoring Chances Against: 22.74

High Danger Chances Against: 9.46

It’s worth noting that the Lightning’s top defensive pairing didn’t exist at the beginning of the season. Yes, J.J. Moser was on the number one unit, but he was playing on his off-side with Victor Hedman on the left side. Raddysh was in and out of the line-up. In fact, this duo didn’t play significant time together until a month into the season (a 7-3 victory over the Rangers where they played 14:06 together at 5v5).

Once fate conspired to join the duo together, they have been one of the best in the league. The Lightning have a 57.71% edge in expected goals when the duo is on the ice. They’ve done it with an excellent blend of offense (3.13 GF/60) with a surprisingly decent defensive effort (2.04 GA/60).

In Hedman’s absence, Moser has emerged as the Lightning’s best all-around defender. No, 7 goals and 22 assists doesn’t scream offensive juggernaut, but he hasn’t need to unlock that aspect of his game due to the proficiency of his partner. Moser just doesn’t make many mistakes when he’s on the ice. He’s in the right spot most of the time and makes the right play when the Lightning need him to.

He’s among the Lightning’s best at denying entries, and he’s been pretty good at getting the puck out of the zone when it’s on his stick. Oh yeah, and he keeps the front of the net pretty clear.

Moser’s partner, Darren Raddysh, has been the biggest surprise of the season for the Lightning. The offensive skill was always there. Anyone who watched him in Syracuse knew that his shot was special. There are few in any league that can generate such a heavy, hard shot on net. The question, and what kept him from playing full time, was his defensive skills.

This season he’s found that part of his game. Is he the best defensive defender in the game, no? He doesn’t need to be, though, that’s what Moser is for. Raddysh has increased his defensive play enough to be a solid blueliner, which is more than enough when he can put up 70 points.

With Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak set to take on the tougher match-ups, that frees this duo to focus more on helping the Lightning offense. Expect them to get the majority of their face-offs in the offensive zone where Raddysh’s big shot can cause chaos in front of the net.

Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak

Time on Ice Together: 458 minutes

Goals Against Per 60: 2.49

Expected Goals Against: 2.27

Scoring Chances Against: 24.44

High Danger Chances Against: 9.20

Welcome to the key defensive pairing for the Lightning. Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak are going to draw the toughest assignment of the series. It will be on them to contain Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Jaroslav Slafkovsky. It’s going to be a challenge, especially for a duo that isn’t exactly the fleetest of feet.

They are going to have to rely on what has made them successful in the past, strong positioning and keeping the front of the net clean. They can’t get to chasing the forwards around in the zone, and when they get a chance to clear the puck. they have to do it.

McDonagh has been the best Lightning defender at denying clean entries when the opposition targets him. Cernak has been above water in that category as well, despite getting targeted the most by other teams, which makes sense considering McDonagh is a brick wall at the blue line.

The Canadiens top trio likes to score off the rush and will be trying to push the defense back deep into the zone with their speed. If McDonagh and Cernak can frustrate them early in the game and the series, it could force them to change their style and go for more dump-ins. They might have speed on their size, but size isn’t their friend. McDonagh and Cernak have the size advantage to win the board battles.

What has also helped them is their ability to retrieve the puck and get it out of the zone. If a defensive pairing forces a team to dump the puck in by standing them up at the blue line, it does them no good if they can’t retrieve the puck and get it out of the zone. McDonagh and Cernak have been able to beat the forecheck and push play out of their zone.

Have they done it against a team as fast as the Canadiens? Not on a nightly basis, but a lot of times it’s not about foot speed, it’s about knowing what to do with the puck before it’s on the stick. McDonagh is one of the smartest defensive players on the ice, and Cernak knows how to keep his game simple and make the quick play.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous – Emil Lilleberg

Time on Ice Together: 452 minutes

Goals Against: 2.26

Expected Goals Against: 2.17

Scoring Chances Against: 21.92

High Danger Chances Against: 8.10

This combination was put together at the end of October and played together for awhile before injuries split it up. Then Lilleberg’s long-term injury put it out of commission until after the Olympic Break. They reunited when the Norwegian came back and stayed together for the majority of the season. They haven’t just been tolerable or just fine for a third pairing. They’ve been good.

Yes, the minutes have been slightly sheltered, but hey that’s a good thing. If Coach Cooper had to run this pairing out against better competition, it means that the top four have been struggling. He’s been able to put them in a position to succeed, and that’s what they’ve done.

There was little question that D’Astous had offensive skill, but the surprise from him has been his ability to retrieve pucks in his own zone and get them out of danger. He hasn’t been just one of the best at exiting the zone with possession on the Lightning, he’s been one of the best in the league. The micro-tracking site All Three Zones has him up there with Cale Makar, Jake Sanderson, and Quinn Hughes in terms of exits with possession. That’s pretty good company.

It will be interesting to see how much ice time this duo gets on the ice. For much of the season Coach Cooper and assistant coach Rob Zettler, who is responsible for the defense, have kept the ice time for their defensive pairings fairly close, especially at 5v5. Raddysh and Moser have been at 12:35, McDonagh and Cernak are at 10:37 while D’Astous and Lilleberg have skated 10:30 a night.

With the stakes a bit higher, will the coaches lean a bit more on the top two pairings or are they going to trust their youngest pairings under the bright lights?