![]() ![]() The trio of Coleman, Gourde, and Goodrow was - by far - the best third line in the league and posted truly dominant numbers together across the board. What really separated the Lightning from everybody else the past two years was having a third dominant line that could swing games in their favor. Can he be expected to maintain his play over another extended playoff run without much of a break? Brandon Hagel is not Blake Coleman But eventually he needs a break, and we might be starting to see the impact of all of that playing time right now. The Lightning have not really had a dependable backup to give Vasilevskiy much time off, and when combined with his overall brilliance it makes it difficult to take him out of the lineup. There is nobody even close to Vasilevskiy in terms of workload the past three seasons. After that, it is Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom at 161 games. The next closest goalie in terms of workload over that stretch? Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyk who has appeared in 179 games. He also played every minute of Tampa Bay’s past two playoff runs, never getting a night off and never being removed early from a game. Vasilevskiy has played a LOT of hockey since the start of the 2019-20 season, appearing in 201 regular season and playoff games. It could also be the result of his workload over the past couple of years. They can run hot and cold for different stretches (or seasons) and nobody is immune to that. Part of it could be the normal volatility we see from goalies. His all situations save percentage ranks 22nd in the league among the 38 goalies with at least 25 appearances during that stretch. ![]() 907 save percentage in his 35 appearances, which is very uncharacteristic for him. Since the start of the calendar year Vasillevskiy has managed only a. Since the start of January his performance has been even further below his normal level. But “very good” for Vasilevskiy is a step below what we are used to seeing from him. He has been, for the most part, very good this season. When he is at his best he makes the Lightning an absolute powerhouse. He would make any team a contender the second he shows up. He is the best goalie in the world, and it is almost unfair to put a player like him behind a team like this. You can talk about Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, or Victor Hedman all you want, but Vasilevskiy is the cog that makes this machine run. Andrei Vasilevskiy looks human instead of superhuman So what is happening this season, and especially lately. That is significantly worse than their performance over the past two years against similar opponents. They have only won 15 of their 37 games against playoff teams for the season, with only nine of those wins coming in regulation. Even worse, since the start of March they are just 1-9-1 against other playoff teams, continuing what has been a season-long struggle against other contenders. Let’s start with the fact that over the past month-and-a-half they are only 9-10-2 overall, with only one of those wins (a 4-3 overtime win against Carolina) coming against a playoff team. But there are some concerns starting to rise to the surface as the playoffs get close. On paper they are still an imposing team that has the potential to go on a run and win it all once again. ![]() They even found a way to go all in at the trade deadline again by adding Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul to their forward group. This season they are chasing history in trying to become the first team since the early 1980s New York Islanders to win three consecutive Stanley Cups.įor much of the season they looked like a team that was perfectly capable of doing that, even after losing some key contributors to the past two championship teams (the entire third line of Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, and Barclay Goodrow Tyler Johnson). Since the start of the 2014-15 season no team has won more regular season games (379) or playoff games (70, which is nearly double the next closest team), while they have reached at least the Conference Final in five of the previous seven seasons, including three Stanley Cup Finals. The Tampa Bay Lightning have been the NHL’s elite team for the better part of the past eight seasons. ![]()
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