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In about a week’s time, the Tampa Bay Lightning appear to have successfully eased promising netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy back into the flow of National Hockey League contests.
Well, as much as you can against the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres, that is.
Following Sunday’s 32-of-35 showing against the ‘Canes, the upstart 21-year-old got the nod for Jon Cooper’s group on Thursday night, too, and stopped 30-of-31 en route to a 4-1 drubbing of the Sabres.
Aided by a three-goal first -- the Bolts got goals from Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, and Nikita Kucherov -- that chased Buffalo netminder Linus Ullmark, Vasilevskiy’s lone blemish on the night came on a simply beautiful second period strike from Buffalo Star-in-the-Making Jack Eichel.
But what Vasilevskiy’s night impressive was his response when Eichel and the Sabres turned up the heat on his net throughout the second period. The Russian goaltender stood tall, and turned aside all but one (the aforementioned Eichel goal) of the Sabres’ 21 shots on net in the second.
Vasilevskiy straight-up stood on his head.
And as I’ve said before, the Lightning need this.
Tampa Bay will be at their absolute best in 2015-16 with a 1A, 1B goaltender situation between starter Ben Bishop and Vasilevskiy, whom I would consider their starter of tomorrow.
The job is clearly Bishop’s at this moment -- and I think he’s earned that right with his play last season and even with the way he’s rebound after a so-so stretch in mid-October -- but there’s tremendous value in knowing that your backup has the mental makeup to handle the starting gig.
That said, you still need to see it on a consistent basis in Vasilevskiy’s return from injury, and more importantly, against stiffer competition. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, November’s full of it, too.
Up next for the Bolts is a road affair with the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are an impressive 5-1-0 at home this year (7-3-2 in total), and would be a good test for Vasilevskiy. But if the start goes to Bishop, the Lightning will have to find work for their 6-foot-3 1B in a week of games against the Sabres (again), Calgary Flames, or Florida Panthers. Are those teams any true measuring stick opponent? Not really.
After that, though, there’s no shortage of November opportunities for No. 88, with games against the New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and Washington Capitals over the horizon.
But you can’t help but feel that the Lightning, still in search of a consistent run and the footing they had a year ago, are in no rush to jump into those games no matter the goaltender Cooper rolls with.
Not yet, anyways.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.