#Vasy4Vezina
Kevin Flannery
By Victor Cabrera
The NHL announced the three finalists for the Vezina trophy. The three candidates are Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators, Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning. All three goaltenders are currently in the playoffs. However our main focus is Vasilevskiy who became the Lightning’s starter this season and put up outstanding numbers during the regular season. The 23 year old netminder is proving to be the future of Tampa. Now for a break down of Vasilevskiy’s season.
How Vasy Became the Big Cat
Vasilevskiy became the starter when Ben Bishop was traded to the Los Angeles Kings during last season’s deadline. While it seemed like it was a risk to make a young goalie the starter time proved that the Lightning made the right call. The Russian netminder has had big shoes to fill with Ben Bishop and Nikolai Khabibulin being long time and elite goaltenders in the Tampa organization. Just how well did the Big Cat do with such a crucial role let’s go into the numbers of his performance.
Vasilevskiy’s Stats Through the Regular Season
This season Vasy played in 65 games the second most in a single season in franchise history, in which he achieved a record of 44-17-3. His 44 wins is the most wins in a single season in franchise history. Vasilevskiy also set a franchise record for shutouts with 8 on the season. His save percentage was .920 and a 2.62 GAA which was fantastic considering the workload he faced this season. His skill in net allowed Vasilevskiy to be on the Atlantic Division All-star team. However when the team had defensive chemistry issues Vasilevskiy stood tall, protecting leads and even winning games with key saves. He became such a valuable player to the team. The season had Vasy make saves on scrambles and odd man rushes. The best save was on Anze Kopitar robbing him of a goal with a behind the back glove save. His performance had fans tweeting “We are not worthy” and fans at Amalie Arena chanting Vasy! Vasy! Vasy! Oi! Oi! Oi!” The hope is that this fantastic season allows Vasilevskiy to win the Vezina trophy later this summer and add to his credibility as a franchise goaltender.
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