Lightning may have to do without Charle-Edouard D'Astous in Game 2

All season, the Lightning have been able to overcome injuries to key players, especially among their defenseman group. And they'll now have to do the same early in the postseason.

As the Lightning attempt to climb out of their 1-0 series hole following Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to Montreal, Tampa Bay is expected to be without rookie defenseman Charle-Edouard D'Astous for Tuesday's Game 2 at Benchmark International Arena.

"You never want to have guys out," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said following Monday's practice. "But he's doubtful for (Tuesday), which is unfortunate. He's a great story for us and for himself. You like to see good things happen to good people."

D'Astous was knocked out of Game 1 midway through the second period when he took a blind hit from Canadiens forward Josh Anderson while pursuing a puck behind the Lightning net. D'Astous took an initial check from Jake Evans before Anderson came in from the opposite side. D'Astous fell to the ice and stayed there for several moments.

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy called for a stop in play and Lightning head athletic trainer Tom Mulligan came onto the ice to attend to D'Astous, who was slow to get up under his own power and skate back to the bench.

D'Astous - who played just 12 shifts and 9:35 of ice time in his NHL playoff debut, well below his 18:45 regular-season average, before exiting - did not return. The 27-year-old rookie, who was signed to a one-year, two-way contract in May after reinventing himself playing in the top pro leagues in Finland and Sweden, came to the Lightning in mid-October and provided a boost to the blue line.

D'Astous quickly became a trusted part of the Lightning's defenseman rotation, showing he could play both the left and right side and ascending to the second power-play unit. D'Astous signed a one-year extension to keep him in Tampa Bay next season.

Playing the Canadiens in the first round was a dream come true to D'Astous, who played junior hockey a 5 1/2-hour drive from Montreal along the St. Lawrence River in Rimouski. Earlier this season, D'Astous scored his second NHL goal and had a plus-5 night in a 6-1 win at the Bell Centre in front of family and friends.

"Losing Chucky, he's a big piece of our team, but it's kind of been the story all season," defenseman Darren Raddysh said. "There's guys going down and guys stepping up, and we got eight great defensemen here right now, and anyone to come in and step in and fill that role and be as good as Chucky has been all year."

During Monday's practice, Declan Carlile was paired with D'Astous' usual partner, Emil Lilleberg, another left-shot defenseman who has flourished playing on the right side opposite D'Astous. The Lightning also have right-shot defenseman Max Crozier, who played as an option.

Both players are coming back from lengthy injuries. Crozier played 16:30 in the Lightning's regular-season finale Wednesday, his first action since the Stadium Series game on Feb. 1. He missed more than 10 weeks following a procedure for a lower-body injury that bothered him most of the season. Crozier had a goal and 10 points with a plus-7 ratio in 35 games in the regular season. Crozier played in three games of the Lightning's first-round playoff series against Florida two postseasons ago.

If Carlile draws in for Game 2, he would be making his postseason NHL debut. Carlile entered the 2025-26 season with just four games of NHL experience over the previous two seasons, but played 44 games this season with one goal and three points and a plus-5 ratio.

"Obviously it sucks with Chuck, and hopefully he's going to be all right," Carlile said. "I think I just come to the rink every day being ready to play whatever role they need me to play that night, it's just another game."

Carlile played in the last four games of the regular season, returning about a week ahead of schedule after missing roughly a month with a lower-body injury.

"I'm happy I can prove what I can do up here and get some trust from the staff, and they've been great to me so far," Carlile said. "It's definitely helped the confidence a lot, knowing that I can play in this league and stick around and be a factor here."

The Lightning had 339 man games lost this season - and they didn't include the 14 games defenseman Victor Hedman missed due to his personal leave of absence. Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Lilleberg all missed at least 30 games due to injury.

Rookie center Dominic James, who appeared to re-injure his right leg, an issue that shelved him for nearly seven weeks, early in Game 1, was a full participant in practice. Playing in his first game since Feb. 28, James left Sunday's game after just one shift, falling to the ice in pain grabbing his right leg after he was tangled with Montreal defenseman Arber Xhekaj. James returned but skated just 7:18.

Canadiens 1, Lightning 0

EASTERN CONFERENCE: FIRST ROUND

Sunday: Canadiens 4, Lightning 3 (OT)

Tuesday: at Tampa, 7, ESPN2

Friday: at Montreal, 7, TNT, truTV

April 26: at Montreal, 7, ESPN

April 29: at Tampa, TBD*

May 1: at Montreal, TBD*

May 3: at Tampa, TBD*

TV/radio: All games also on The Spot-Ch. 66; 102.5-FM

* If necessary

• • •

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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 4:15 PM.