
Sunday, 4 a.m.
Oh, so that’s Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Vasilevski, the usually stellar goaltender of the Tampa Bay Lightning, had been struggling on the season. He had lost three straight games, giving up 12 goals along the way. Considering the Bolts are built largely around him, it was a distressing sight.
Then came Saturday night.
And the Big Cat roared again.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
Vasilevskiy stopped all 31 shots he faced in a 3-0 victory over the normally high-scoring Washington Capitals. It was the 35th career shutout (regular season) for Vasilevskiy. Who has 297 career wins.
The Bolts scored once in the second period and twice in the third.
"The big thing for us is taht we had a 2-1 lead with two minutes to coughed it up (agiainst Minnesota(," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "It sucked thel life out of us. Tonight, we bent but we didn't break."
In the second period, Mitchell Chaffee scored what would be the winning goal. Brayden Point scored early in the third, and Conor Geekie scored the first goal of his career to wrap up the scoring.
The Bolts, 5-2, are home against Nashville and Steven Smacks on Monday night.