The Tampa Bay Lightning have activated goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy off the injured reserve list and he will make his first start of the 2023-24 season against the Carolina Hurricanes, after missing the first 20 games due to recovery from back surgery.
‣ The Tampa Bay Lightning have activated goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy off of injured reserve and he will make his first start of the 2023-24 season against the Carolina Hurricanes.
‣ Vasilevskiy missed the first 20 games of the season while recovering from back surgery to repair a lumbar disc herniation.
‣ Vasilevskiy has established himself as one of the NHL’s top goaltenders, having helped lead Tampa Bay to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, and winning the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender in 2019.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have some good news. They’ve activated goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy off of injured reserve. This update comes straight from the horse’s mouth, head coach Jon Cooper.
But wait, there’s more. Vasilevskiy isn’t just off the bench, he’s back in the game. He’s set to make his first start of the 2023-24 season against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
Let’s rewind a bit. Vasilevskiy missed the Lightning’s first 20 games of the season. Why? He was recovering from back surgery.
In late September, the Lightning announced that Vasilevskiy underwent a successful surgery. He had a lumbar disc herniation in his back repaired. At that time, Tampa Bay expected Vasilevskiy to miss the opening two months of the season.
While Vasilevskiy was out, the Lightning didn’t just sit around. They moved forward with a goaltender tandem of Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins. Johansson was the star, making the majority of the starts. He racked up an 8-4-5 record, a 3.41 goals-against-average, and .894 save percentage. Tomkins? Well, he only appeared in three games before being placed on waivers.
Now, let’s talk about Vasilevskiy. He’s not just any goaltender. He’s established himself as one of the NHL’s elites since his debut in the 2014-15 season. His record? A whopping 263-123-28.
But that’s not all. Vasilevskiy helped lead Tampa Bay to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. He also won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender in 2019. Plus, he took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Last season? Vasilevskiy put together a 34-22-4 record. He also had a 2.65 goals-against-average, .915 save percentage, and four shutouts.
Currently, the Lightning are doing okay. They have a 9-6-5 record (23 points) and sit in third place in the Atlantic Division. But with Vasilevskiy back in the game, who knows what’s next?
