When it comes to starting goaltending, the Tampa Bay Lightning are set on most nights. Andrei Vasilevskiy has absolutely fantastic in his first year as the Bolts' true number one netminder, giving his teammates the opportunity to express more offensive freedom in front of him.
However, what about the games Vasilevskiy is not between in pipes?
Going into the start of the 2017-18 regular season it was expected that the 35-year-old Peter Budaj would be more than capable of serving as Vasilevskiy's backup. Unfortunately, his play has been dreadful causing concern that the Lightning are at risk every game their number-one goalie needs a break.
Through the first 23 games, Budaj's workload has been light, seeing action in only four contests. His numbers in those four games have been brutal, averaging 3.75 goal-against while posting a .867 save percentage.
The veteran netminder is responsible for three of Tampa Bay's seven losses, allowing five goals on 34 shots in his last loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In all three of Budaj's losing efforts, he has surrendered four or more goals. In his only victory against the Los Angeles Kings, he only allowed two goals on 24 shots.
To put it bluntly, what Budaj has been bringing to the ice simply will not cut it. Part of me wants to give him some sort of benefit of the doubt due to his lack of opportunities but that is what the role of a backup netminder entails. They need to be able to come in after having several games off and get the job done. Budaj is demonstrating he is just not capable of doing that this season.
It is clear that Budaj may not give the Bolts what they need and it may be time for the team to look elsewhere for other options. The most obvious option resides in the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch.
The Lightning recently acquired Louis Domingue from the Arizona Coyotes for an upgrade at goaltender number three. Now Domingue has shown little to prove that he is an upgrade over Budaj. However, the Lightning would not have brought him in if they weren't willing to give him a shot.
Outside of Domingue, Tampa may have to look elsewhere for a more reliable backup. That, of course, is easier said than done.
No matter what the solution winds up being, it is getting more clear that Peter Budaj is not the answer at backup goaltender. It will be interesting to see what Steve Yzerman does to solve this issue.