Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy set to miss game against the Maple Leafs
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Tampa Bay will be without goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy at least the next two games as the Lightning have moved him to the IR on Monday afternoon.
It's going to be a tough stretch for the Tampa Bay Lightning as they will be without Andrei Vasilevskiy for at least a week after placing him on the IR. This means he will miss Monday's game against Toronto, and Tuesday's against Montreal.
The Hockey News' Diandra Loux reported the news on X:
Andrei Vasilevskiy has been moved to IR, so he will miss both games in Toronto and Montreal.
The rule is to be out a minimum of 7 days from the day after the game in which the player was injured.
The rule is to be out a minimum of 7 days from the day after the game in which the player was injured.
Vasilevskiy may have suffered the injury on Dec. 4th, and did not play in Tampa's most recent game on Dec. 6th; a 2-0 shutout loss to the New York Islanders.
What this means for Tampa vs. Toronto and going forward
The Russian goaltender has been stellar this season, holding an 11-6-2 record with a 2.31 GAA and .916 SV%.
It's a huge blow to the Lightning who need as much help as they can to stay in first amidst a tight Atlantic Division.
For Monday's game, Tampa will get the luxury of having both Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point back in the lineup after both of them missed games on Dec. 6th.
Point coming off the IR allowed Tampa Bay to put Vasilevskiy on the IR, so while it's a blow to lose their goalie, they get one of their star forwards back.
Tampa Bay will likely go with Jonas Johansson in net against Toronto, and could see Brandon Halverson in the crease on Tuesday on the second of a back-to-back. Johansson has a 5-4-0 record with a 2.85 GAA and .896 SV%.
The Maple Leafs have to take advantage of the situation and try to get as much pressure on Johansson (or whoever is in net) as possible, because it's not too often they get to face their division rivals without their star netminder.
Until Tampa Bay has a better idea of the extent of Vasilevskiy's injury, it's going to be a bit tougher of a battle for the division-leading Lightning, leaving the door open for teams like the Maple Leafs to take advantage.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 8|933 ANSWERS Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy set to miss game against the Maple Leafs Does Toronto have an advantage with Andrei Vasilevskiy on the IR? | ||
| Yes | 710 | 76.1 % |
| No | 223 | 23.9 % |
| List of polls | ||