He is now on the verge of overtaking Börje Salming
The Tampa Bay Lightning are on a three-game losing streak and their goal differential is 0-9 in their last two games.
Victor Hedman was then behind the conversion with the game-clinching goal and was named Player of the Match.
– It’s easy to play forward, he says about the special goal.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won 4-2 over the Chicago Blackhawks in Illinois.
Victor Hedman scored the game-winning goal at 3-2 midway through the third period.
Suddenly the giant back was in an unfamiliar position up front in front of goal.
Erik Cernak fired a shot into the backboard and Viktor Hedman was able to put the ball into the net.
– There’s no problem playing in a position when you hit the ball in front of the goal line like that, haha, no, it was huge, says the tall full-back.
Four of all time
With 147 NHL goals, 32-year-old Victor Hedman is on the cusp of passing Borje Salming as the third-best Swedish defenseman of all-time.
Nicklas Lidstrom has 264 goals, Erik Karlsson 183 goals, and Borje Salming 150 goals.
For the Tampa Bay Lightning, this was a much-needed victory after a shaky start to the season.
– Looking at the match, we played stable. “We just kept working through it and were the better team overall,” says Victor Hedman.
Two points per match
Swedish star Brayden Point also scored the 1-1 equalizer at the start of the second half.
Jonas Johansson made 13 saves for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Connor Bedard scored no points and had no shots on goal for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Exactly one week ago, the Chicago Blackhawks won 5-3 over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Florida.