Tampa Bay Lightning Goalie Situation: Is Coach Cooper’s ‘1A’ And ‘1B’ Really The Way To Go?
The Tampa Bay Lightning has two talented goaltenders, but rather than utilize the obviously hot Ben Bishop, Coach Jon Cooper has decided his goalies are ‘1A’ and ‘1B’.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been on one of the most terrifying rollercoaster rides in the world this season. Injuries and illnesses have wreaked havoc on the Lightning’s team chemistry and on many nights, the Lightning’s goaltenders have been left holding the bag for the team’s performance.
Now, when you take a look at almost every single team in the NHL, there is one constant. There is a starting goaltender and a backup goaltender. As one could easily imagine, the starting goaltender carries a majority of the load. The back-up gets the occasional game due to injuries/illnesses, back-to-back series, and what not.
This is a formula which has worked for the National Hockey League for as long as anyone can remember. Surprisingly enough, this is not how things work here in the Bolts Nation. Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper has decided he doesn’t have a “starting” and a “back-up” goalie. He has a ‘1A’ and ‘1B’ goalie.
Tampa Bay Lightning
In black and white, this seems like a pretty solid theory. This allows both goaltenders to have an adequate amount of playing time, which will prevent the otherwise “backup” goaltender from getting incredibly cold. Unfortunately, in the real world, things aren’t quite as clear.
There is a saying in the world which applies very specifically to this situation. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” Regrettably, this doesn’t seem to be a philosophy the Lightning’s bench boss wants to get behind.
Now, before anybody decides to start in on us and proclaim how incredible Andrei Vasilevskiy is and/or how the team doesn’t seem to play the same in front of him, stay with us here for a moment. This is not a knock on Vasilevskiy’s skill, nor is it an affirmation he is not the future of Lightning goaltending.
This is simply a rational look at Coach Cooper’s current philosophy when it comes to goaltending and what the Tampa Bay Lightning really need if they plan to make their way into a playoff spot before the puck drops for the final time in the regular season.
Let’s start this cautionary tale on Thursday night as the Tampa Bay Lightning did battle with the Calgary Flames. When the final buzzer sounded, the Lightning would watch as their seven-game point streak came to a screeching halt.
If It’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It
If you carefully traversed the Twitter accounts of various Tampa Bay Lightning media personnel, you would get conflicting reports of who would get the start between the pipes against Calgary.
Lightning Beat Writer Bryan Burns speculated it would be Ben Bishop who would get the start between the pipes based on Andrei Vasilevskiy’s participation in the optional morning skate. At the same time, Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times went with the team’s pattern and assumed it would be Vasilevskiy between the pipes later that night.
Much to the surprise of a good number of Tampa Bay Lightning fans, Joe Smith ended up winning the day on this matter. When the team hit the ice for their pregame warm-ups, it would be Andrei Vasilevskiy who would lead the team out on the ice.
This led many Tampa Bay Lightning fans throwing their hands in the air and asking whether or not Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper was out of his mind. As we said before, “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”
When you have a hot goaltender like Ben Bishop, who has brought home victories in his last five starts, why on Earth would you deviate from what has been working for nothing more than the philosophy of “splitting time?”
A Closer Look At The Numbers
Let’s take a rational look at things here. The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently six points out of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. After the Calgary game, there are now just 22 games left in the season. At this point in the season, every single point can mean the difference between a playoff spot and an early tee time.
In other words, the team should be going with the goaltender who has the best chance of bringing home the victory. Right now, the aforementioned goaltender is Ben Bishop. Ever since returning from injury, Bishop has gone 7-2-1 with a Save Percentage of .911.
This includes a shutout performance on February 2nd against the Los Angeles Kings.
On the other side of the ice, Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 1-4-3 with a Save Percentage of .914. Sure, Vasilevskiy’s Save Percentage is slightly lower than Bishop’s but the place where these two differ the most is the win/loss column.
Getting Your Head In The Game
Before Ben Bishop’s return to the ice on January 12th, Vasilevskiy told Joe Smith about the mental struggle he was having and his current inability to get his head in the game.
"“Physically I’m fine,” Vasilevskiy told Smith. “I’m still young, I can play many games in a row. But it’s all about mentally right now. It’s all in my head. I have to be better in my head and just handle my thoughts during the game.”"
One could easily assume by his current track record, he hasn’t made much progress getting his head back in the game. If someone is truly struggling like this, the absolute last thing you want to do is continue to push someone. Unfortunately, Coach Cooper’s current mindset doesn’t exactly allow for that.
“Riding” A Particular Goaltender
Just two days before the Lightning took on the Calgary Flames, the Lightning was set to do battle with the eighth-place Edmonton Oilers. Before taking on the Oilers, Jon Cooper was asked whether or not he would consider “riding Bishop” more, he had something rather interesting to say.
"“There’s no sense in sitting here saying, ‘We’re going to ride one.'” Cooper said. “Is playing one guy two in a row riding him? I say playing someone 10 games in a row is riding him. I don’t see that happening.” – via Joe Smith/Tampa Bay Times"
Well…here’s the thing. It already has happened. Ben Bishop sustained his Lower-Body Injury early in the first period on December 20th as the Lightning took on the Detroit Red Wings. After Bishop made his untimely exit from the ice, it was Andrei Vasilevskiy who took his place.
After that game, in which the Lightning happened to win 4-1, Andrei Vasilevskiy would play the next nine games. This included not one, not two, but three back-to-back series. For those of you like us keeping count, that’s 10 straight games, including three back-to-back series. But they’re not going to “ride” either goaltender, right?
There were many games in that 10-game series where the Lightning could’ve looked to players like Kristers Gudlevskis or Adam Wilcox in an effort to give Vasilevskiy some time to get his head in the game; especially during the three back-to-back series. Instead, Cooper continued to lean on Vasilevskiy.
Just how did this work out for the Tampa Bay Lightning? The Bolts went 4-5-1 during that period of time. If the Tampa Bay Lightning wants to find themselves in a postseason spot when the final puck is dropped in regulation, these numbers just aren’t going to cut it.
Questioning The Mindset
After Thursday night’s loss to the Flames, Cooper addressed the goaltending subject. Needless to say, he said exactly what many Lightning fans thought he would.
"“Well, Bish played two in a row, and if Vasy doesn’t play tonight he goes, you know, how long without playing. We’ve done this all year.” Cooper said. “It’s not one of these situations where guys are going weeks without playing and we don’t sit here and say ‘well, Bishop’s going to play every single game down the stretch.’ As I said, the goals we’ve been giving up, we’ve given up as a team, it’s not the goaltender.”"
That’s just it, though…Cooper’s last statement says a lot. Many people will say the team plays differently in front of Vasilevskiy than they do in front of Bishop.
The question we pose is, is this really the case, or is it that Bishop’s style of play combined with his experience playing at the highest level of the game helps him mask some of the rest of the team’s (here’s looking at you, defense) shortcomings?
Setting Talent By The Wayside In A Playoff Push
I think the biggest question here is, “In what world do you let a two-time Vezina finalist (who was robbed last season if you ask us) “split time” with a goaltender that has only just begun his NHL journey?” If we were Ben Bishop, we may feel as if this was a backhanded slap in the face.
Judging by some of the comments Bishop has made about his impending status heading into the NHL Trade Deadline, one could easily think he feels slightly shafted and is honestly looking for more time on the ice.
"“Obviously we have a great team, a great organization and great place to play,” Bishop told Joe Smith. “Obviously the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. You want to win where you are. You don’t really think about next year, or anything but next game. But we’ll see where it takes us. That’s my feeling. But at the same time, I want to play, too.”"
While Bishop hasn’t said it outright and being a professional he probably never will, but it seems as if the philosophy of splitting time is not exactly what Bishop is looking for right now. He clearly wants to win a Stanley Cup, and with the team he is with right now, but if he can’t get the ice time, what’s the point?
The Goaltender Of The Future
Andrei Vasilevskiy is widely considered to be the “future of Tampa Bay Lightning goaltending.” This may very well be the case. Vasilevskiy is tremendously talented and has a long, and more than likely successful, career ahead of him. Unfortunately, it is our solemn belief he needs at least another season or two behind Bishop.
This will give him the time he needs to get his head in the game, the confidence he needs in order to make his presence on the ice known, and a chance to learn to play the puck in a similar manner to Ben Bishop. Also, it will give him some much-needed experience before he is expected to take on a full season by himself.
The Lightning’s Final Playoff Push
Vasilevskiy is very much the future of the Tampa Bay Lightning; however, Ben Bishop is clearly the right now of Lightning goaltending. As we have said many times before, it’s a Coach’s job to go with the players who give the team the best chance to win. Right now, that goaltender is Ben Bishop.
As we mentioned previously, there are just 22 games left in the regular season. Of those 22 games, 12 of them are going to be against Divisional opponents. These games are going to be particularly important.
Picking up a victory against a Divisional opponent not only adds points to the Lightning’s totals, but takes them out of the hands of the teams they are directly competing for a playoff spot against.
Next: Ryan Callahan Out Indefinitely Following Follow-Up Surgery
Under no circumstance are we saying Vasilevskiy should get in some ice time in between now and then end of the season, but unless Ben Bishop’s hot hands go cold, we think it may be time for the Lightning to “ride” one of their goaltenders all the way to a spot in the postseason.