Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman did not finish Friday's game.
Hedman took only one shift in the second period and was not on the bench for the rest of the game as the Lightning lost 6-3 to the Colorado Avalanche. He finished the game with only 5:56 of ice time.
The team did not announce a reason for his absence during the game and head coach Jon Cooper was not asked about Hedman's status post-game.
Hedman, 35, had appeared in all 10 Lightning games so far this season, scoring two goals and four points.
He missed the final month of the 2025-26 season due to what he later revealed was performance anxiety.
"For me, it was not really feeling low, but it was performance anxiety, kind of feeling that pressure in your chest as soon as a game day would hit," Hedman said over the summer. "It kind of locks you up. You make a mistake and in the past you'd be able to shake it off, but I couldn't do that. And I wasn't feeling 100 per cent physically."
Hedman is in his 18th NHL season. The Lightning continue their road trip at the Utah Mammoth on Saturday.
