The star goaltender is expected to be back in his starting role in the next couple of weeks, but didn’t want to put a stamp on his return date just yet.
The Lightning were in high spirits on Monday at practice despite some of their recent struggles. Andrei Vasilevskiy surprised his coaches and most of his teammates when he joined them at Amalie Arena ahead of their road-trip.
Vasilevskiy has been recovering from back surgery since Sept. 28th. He took shots from his teammates for the first time and looked fully comfortable on the ice.
He clarified on Monday that his disc herniation wasn’t hockey-related but instead a result of “pushing too hard” in the gym.
“It’s just such a silly, silly injury and was avoidable,” he said. “Same as my first surgery six, seven years ago. It was after the hard workout in the gym, the squats and overhead presses and all this bodybuilding stuff. But as I say, very avoidable and I just wasn’t smart about pushing myself too hard.”
Vasilevskiy had a similar situation happen years back and said this will change the way he approaches his workouts. He plans on staying away from the gym now that he’s back on the ice.
“I guess the first surgery wasn’t a good enough lesson,” he said.
“The injury was totally avoidable, not even hockey-related. It was gym-related. So I think now I will spend a lot more time on the ice.”
The Lightning goaltender is expected to be back in his starting role in the next couple of weeks, but didn’t want to put a stamp on his return date yet. Back in September and prior to surgery, he reiterated to the media the importance of listening to his body this season. It’s a commitment he made to himself.
“We’ll see how it is,” he said. “I think we’re about two weeks away from that ‘eight weeks from surgery’ mark. And so once we hit that eight-week mark, we’ll go from there.”
He gave praise to Jonas Johansson, who quickly stepped in as his backup. Johansson was brand new to the Lightning team when he was asked to step into the starting role for the 2019 Vezina Trophy winner.
“He’s been great. Obviously, it’s it’s not an easy job. Believe me, I know,” Vasilevskiy said jokingly.
“But he’s been amazing. In some games we just didn’t play as well, but I thought he was really rock solid and we’re right there in those races. So, it’s big. He was a big part of that, for sure.”
Vasilevskiy will continue to skate with his teammates and will make his first road trip of the season this week as the Lightning take on St. Louis and Chicago.