The Tampa Bay Lightning have been abysmal as of late, losing five games in a row and benching their three superstars in the third period of the team's loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. The Lightning have looked tired and uninterested, and they could be missing their best defenseman as Swedish star Victor Hedman has popped up on the injury report ahead of Tuesday night's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Hedman leads the Lightning in ice time per game  at 23:59, and although the Flyers are one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference, it won't be easy to snap their recent losing streak without the 32-year-old. Lightning fans will surely be wondering: Is Victor Hedman playing vs. Flyers?

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Victor Hedman injury status vs. Flyers

Victor Hedman will not be in the lineup when the Lightning welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to Amalie Arena on Tuesday night, coach Jon Cooper confirmed.

The blueliner left the team's demoralizing 6-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday after being checked by Andrei Svechnikov at 1:18 of the second period. He returned for one 11-second shift later in the period before leaving the game for good, according to NHL.com.

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“He's not in tonight,” Cooper told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. “I'd put him in the day-to-day category.”

Hedman will be replaced in the lineup by Czech D-man Erik Cernak, who himself missed the team's last two games with a lower-body injury. Hedman has accumulated 36 points (six goals and 30 assists) in 60 games for the blue and white in 2022-23.

Although the Lightning seemed poised to finish in either 2nd or 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, their recent struggles have opened the door to wildcard contenders Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, who now each sit just nine points back of the Florida-based franchise for the No. 3 seed.

Lightning fans will be hoping that this is just a one-game absence for the two-time Stanley Cup champion, but as to the question of is Victor Hedman playing vs. the Flyers, the answer is no.