Tampa Bay Laughs at Your Andrei Vasilevskiy Doubts

The Lightning netminder came alive in Game 5 and now the team has new life against the Maple Leafs. Would you bet against him?

Before the season began, I asked Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy about the fact he had played so many games in recent years. After all, the Lightning had won two Stanley Cups and gone to another final with him as the backbone in net - making him incredibly busy at the sport's most demanding position over a long stretch of time. And even though the superstar netminder was aware of the grind, he was much more content with the results.

"I'm kind of used to it now," he said. "It's a little harder of course, you don't have that much time to rest. But I can't complain - you want your summer to be short every year, right?"

Through the first four games of the Lightning's opening-round series against Toronto, it looked like the Maple Leafs had maybe solved Vasilevskiy. Vats of digital ink had been spilled all over the Internet, theorizing on the weaknesses of the netminder's game and what it meant for Tampa Bay.

And then Game 5 happened.

As with most games in this series, Tampa Bay played a better, smarter game than Toronto. But this time they got a vintage performance from Vasilevskiy, who dealt with in-tight mayhem from Ryan O'Reilly and John Tavares and a crucial breakaway from Mitch Marner. All in all, Tampa Bay walked away with a 4-2 win and Vasilevskiy once again looked like the heartbreaker he has often been in the post-season.

"Big-time saves; he makes them," said Lightning center Nick Paul. "He's not scared, he's not shy. If he needs to do the splits or a windmill glove-save, he'll do it. He's the best goalie in the league."

If there has been an underlying theme to the series, it's been Toronto's ability to come back on the Lightning and it's hard not to look at Tampa Bay and see a team that could be worn out from so many deep runs in the past few seasons. But the Bolts have dictated most of the periods in the series so far and with a little more help for their goalie, they managed to stay alive in that potential Game 5 eliminator.

"We did a good job getting in lanes, trying to block shots, getting sticks in front and making it easier for Vasy to see pucks," said center Anthony Cirelli. "He was unbelievable."

And of course, that's what the Bolts expect from their guy. Vasilevskiy has been one of the most dependable starters in the NHL for years and you wouldn't be able to name too many ahead of him in the 'money goalie' department right now (if any). So it can't surprise his teammates when he pulls a gem at the exact time they need him to, can it?

"No," Cirelli said. "Ever since I got to Tampa, each and every night Vasy has been our best player. He's a rock for us back there and when he's making those saves it's a huge momentum boost and keeps us in games."

Now the action heads back to Tampa for another elimination game. The Lightning have the experience and they have the netminder who can put up a wall at the blink of an eye. If the Bolts make the full comeback in this series, it means more playoff hockey and a continued heavy workload for Vasilevskiy. That would make for another short summer - but you won't hear him complaining.