Monday, 3 a.m.
Every now and then, when the schedule finally allows Andrei Vasilevskiy to get tired, the Tampa Bay Lighting will take him out of mothballs.
That’s when Jonas Johansson gets to play.
Sometimes, he plays very well.
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Johansson started for just the third time in 14 games Monday night, and was terrific in a 3-0 victory over the Florida Panthers. Johansson stopped all 36 shots by the high-flying Panthers.
It was a stellar game by Johansson, who has just 27 wins in his NHL career. It was his fourth shutout.
Most nights, you can find Johansson at the end of the Bolts’ bench, where he has a great view to watch Vasilevskiy play. He’s just 4-1-1 on the season. Most nights, he isn’t even a medium-sized cat.
But he was sharp against Florida, one night after the Panthers beat the Lightning 4-2.
Tampa Bay got goals from Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Mitchell Chaffee and, on a short-handed empty netter, Brandon Hagel.
Kucherov was benched with a game misconduct penalty. He is tied for fourth in the NHL with 50 points.
Guentzel has scored a goal in 12 of the last 13 games.
The Bolts, now with 40 points (19-11-2) are off until Saturday when they are home against the New York Rangers at 7 p.m.