Key defenseman returns to Lightning 80 days after breaking leg

Another example of the grit of hockey players.

Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup on Saturday only two-and-a-half months after breaking his left tibia and fibula on Feb 7.

The Lightning are on the brink of elimination, trailing the Florida Panthers 3-0 in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

The injury happened against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden and Sergachev was stretchered off the ice.

He has been ahead of the schedule since then.

Sergachev, 25, had surgery on his left leg the following morning and started skating on March 18. He returned to practice, though he was limited in what he could do and was wearing a red no-contact jersey.

Sergachev began fully participating in practice on the day before the series with the Panthers began.

There is a metal rod in Sergachev's leg to stabilize it.