Tuesday, 3 a.m.
Tuesday, 3 a.m.
He still fills the goalmouth. He still infuses energy into his team. He is still capable of closing the door, the way he did on the Philadelphia Flyers.
He is Andrei Vasilevskiy, and bad start or no, is still capable of turning a hockey game into his personal highlight film.
Vasilevski pitched the 41st shutout of his career Monday night, blanking the Flyers 3-1. It was the 12th win in their last 15 games.
Vasilevskiy lost his first five games of the season. But he's won four in a row and nine of his last 11. In his recent four-game streak, he has given up just three goals on 100 shots.
This time, Vasilevskiy faced just 20 shots. But he made big saves.
Brandon Hagel had a splendid night, scoring two goals and setting up Anthony Cirelli for a third.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper was impressed with his team's defense.
"We've defended," Cooper said. "Defendingis hard. You're playing without the puck. It's not as much fun, It takes a lot of work. It takes energy. We're playihg a pretty complete 200 foot game."
In particular, Cooper was impressed with J.J. Moser.
"He's like an eraser," Cooper said. "When things break down, he erases someone's error."
The Bolts are home on Wednesday night to face the Calgary Flames at 7 p.m. at Benchmark International..