Dennis Hildeby Makes Strong First Impression in Lightning Debut

The Tampa Bay Lightning kept their win streak alive Thursday night with a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. Dennis Hildeby made a strong first impression in his Lightning debut, stopping 34 of 36 shots, and finishing the night with a .944 save percentage.

“It was fun just battling out there, and we did a great job keeping it tight,” said Hildeby. “The chances they had were shots off the ice, which is a pretty good recipe there. Great job at the end there from everybody.”

The Lightning acquired Hildeby from the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason, hoping he could provide an upgrade behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. While it was earlier than usual for the Lightning to turn to their backup, Jon Cooper wanted to give Hildeby the chance to make his first start at home rather than on the road.

“If I can give (Vasilevskiy) a little bit more time off during the year, I'm going to try,” said Cooper. “But also, I don't want to bury (Hildeby) and not have him play for however many games, and then his opening start is going to be on the road somewhere. I just want him to get comfortable. I want our team to get comfortable with him, and I thought fortunately tonight checked a lot of boxes.”

Vasilevskiy has reiterated that he’s willing to play all 84 games, but Cooper would ideally like to manage his workload when possible. Getting Hildeby into the mix early also gives him a chance to get comfortable with his new team, particularly the defensemen playing in front of him.

“It’s been going well in that department,” said Hildeby. “I'd say it's a very good group of guys here. They’re great at getting new guys into the team, so that's helped a lot. And obviously, system-wise, getting used to, but at the end of the day, my job is pretty similar no matter where I am. It's about stopping the puck, so it's been it's been a great start so far. I’m having a lot of fun.”

Hildeby arrived in Tampa on Sept. 4 to join the team before training camp. Adjusting to the Florida heat has been one of the biggest changes since leaving Toronto.

“I’m getting used to the heat every day, although I do feel like it’s gotten a little better already," he said with a laugh.

Growing up, Vasilevskiy was one of Hildeby’s favorite goalies to watch, making the opportunity to play alongside him in Tampa Bay pretty special.

“Now I’m sharing the ice with him,” he said. “There’s a great opportunity for me to learn from the best here.”

“You see someone on TV all the time, and you’re like, ‘This doesn’t feel real,’ but then you meet him in real life, and he’s just a nice, normal person who’s an incredible goalie and super helpful. It’s been fun so far.”