Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Andrei Vasilevskiy is once again proving himself to be one of the NHL’s top goaltenders.
Not that the Tampa Bay Lightning netminder had anything to prove to anyone at this point in his NHL career. When you’ve got two Stanley Cups, one Vezina Trophy and one Conn Smythe Trophy to your name the way Vasilevskiy does, you’ve already laid out a Hockey Hall of Fame-worthy career with a good stretch of career still to come.
That said, there’s also something to be said for longevity in hockey’s top league. That’s why Vasilevskiy’s continuing performance as a standout NHL star is especially impressive. And if the Lightning want to make the playoffs, they’ll need him to continue to stand tall.
The 30-year-old Russian just set a new all-time greatest goalie number after claiming his 300th-career regular-season win in the Lightning’s 4-1 victory over the mighty Winnipeg Jets Thursday night.
With the win, Vasilevskiy became the fastest goalie to reach the 300-win mark, getting to that plateau in just 490 games. The previous record-holder in that regard was all-time netminding icon Jacques Plante, who got his 300th win in his 521st game. Vasilevskiy also became the 40th goalie in NHL history to win at least 300 games.
Nobody in NHL history reached 300 wins faster than Andrei Vasilevskiy. 🦁
Another milestone for the future Hall of Famer! pic.twitter.com/HUWYnrJUEE
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) November 15, 2024
When you consider the Lightning’s success in recent years, you have to say that Vasilevskiy is the Bolts’ most valuable player this season.
We know, we know – the Lightning also have an outstanding forward in right winger Nikita Kucherov, who has posted 11 goals and 24 points in only 15 games. But for as good as Kucherov is – and he really is a phenom – Tampa Bay would still have a talented team even if Kucherov were on the sidelines with an injury.
Losing Vasilevskiy, on the other hand, would almost certainly spell the end of any notion of the Bolts either making the playoffs or making hay in the playoffs. Look at Vasilevskiy’s individual numbers this season – including a 2.32 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage, and one shutout – and compare them to his backup, Jonas Johansson (4.51 GAA, .866 SP). You’ll quickly see a stark contrast in delivering optimal results.
Vasilevskiy is more than producing victories – he’s letting the NHL know he can do well and do it often. He’s played 13 games this season, which projects him to play 71 this year. That would be a new career high for him – the most he’s played in one year is 65 games, but that was back in 2017-18. Vasilevskiy only appeared in 52 games last season after missing the beginning of the season. But he’s usually good for about 60 games per season, and with Johansson struggling, Vasilevskiy will almost assuredly continue to be heavily leaned on by his teammates and coaches.
"He's generational and he's still in his prime."
Coach Cooper on Andrei Vasilevskiy 🎙️
More from last night: https://t.co/CTTVAsgVyh pic.twitter.com/ZQ11uBKzio
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 15, 2024
In the highly competitive Atlantic Division, Vasilevskiy intends to pressure his Toronto, Boston, and Florida counterparts to match or better his results.
Tampa hasn’t had much direct competition against other Atlantic teams this season so far. But while Vasilevskiy played in and lost both of the Bolts’ two Atlantic games – and was pulled in one of them – he’s fared much better against the rest of the league, getting at least one point in five of his past seven games and posting an SP of at least .943 in his past four wins and in an overtime loss.
Vasilevskiy’s salary of $9.5 million puts him under the microscope, but while he showed he wasn’t perfect last season (.900 SP, 2.90 GAA), Vasilevskiy has been the Lightning’s most irreplaceable asset. Any success they will have the rest of the way will hinge on how well Vasilevskiy plays. Vasilevskiy is better at home (5-1-1 record) than on the road (2-4-0), but there’s no question he’s been better all-around than he was last season.
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The bad news for Vasilevskiy is that Tampa Bay is doing just average. The good news is that Vasilevskiy is looking confident despite some rough patches. And only three other goalies with at least 10 games played – Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson and Toronto’s Anthony Stolarz – have a better goals-against average than Vasilevskiy this season.
Vasilevskiy obviously can weather the storm and come out the other side with a ‘W’ more often than not. The reason why he’s the fastest to get to 300 wins is precisely because he’s so dependable and regularly terrific. Time will tell how many more wins Vasilevskiy earns, but he’s already done plenty to solidify his status as one of hockey’s best-ever netminders.
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News Summary:
- Star NHL Goalie Vasilevskiy Bounces Back After Off Year, Looks Like Lightning's MVP
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.