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Lightning’s Charle-Edouard D’Astous leaves Canadiens Game 1 after taking scary hit
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- Lightning’s Charle-Edouard D’Astous leaves Canadiens Game 1 after taking scary hit
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The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs have officially begun . And the Tampa Bay Lightning are looking to re-establish themselves as one of the premier teams in the NHL. Unfortunately, their Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens took a major turn after defenseman Charle-Eduoard D'Astous left the game.
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D'Astous was skating behind his goal, chasing a loose puck. As he did, two Canadiens players collided with him . Jake Evans made contact from behind, while Josh Anderson hit him in front. D'Astous was down and checked on by medical staff, but was able to skate off with the help of his teammates. Anderson was assessed a two-minute penalty for charging.
Momentum in this contest quickly swung in the Lightning's favor following this incident. On the ensuing power play, defenseman Darren Raddysh scored his first of the playoffs to tie the game at one. 29 seconds later, Brandon Hagel gave Tampa a 2-1 lead after capitalizing on a turnover in front of goal.
D'Astous, 27, is in the midst of his first full season in the NHL. He skated in 70 games for the Lightning this season. In those contests, he scored six goals and 29 points during the regular season.
Prior to the Lightning's comeback, the Canadiens had assumed control of the game. Montreal opened the scoring in the first period thanks to Anderson. And it appeared as if Anderson had scored again to make it 2-0. However, that goal was waved off due to a high-stick deflection.
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The Lightning are now in control of Game 1. Hopefully, D'Astous came away from that hit without any serious injury, and he is able to return to the ice sooner rather than later with no complications.
Related: Lightning's Nikita Kucherov moves up all-time playoff leaderboard in Game 1
Related: Lightning stun Canadiens with two-goal blitz in Game 1
