Tampa Bay Lightning: Andrei Vasilevskiy Is Not The Future

While many Lightning fans believe Andrei Vasilevskiy is the future of Tampa Bay hockey, I’m not buying into the hype.

Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final left a bad taste in the mouth of Tampa Bay Lightning fans, and rightly so. I was in attendance for this game and it was rough to see the reactions of the fans. The energy was gone after the Pittsburgh Penguins scored their second goal, and most Bolts fans just seemed to wander in a daze, wondering what happened to the team and how they could be playing like this in such a crucial game.

The excitement generated by Brian Boyle‘s two goals to put the game in reach only made the 5-2 loss that much more devastating when the game ended. After the game, every fan with a social media account or a willing ear was giving his or her reasons for the bad loss.

The team lacked or had no motivation, the defense did not do enough to help out Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman played his worst game of the year, and the referees and NHL are fixing the games. The excuses and theories just kept coming.

For me however, the story is much simpler and I know is going to be very unpopular.  The Lightning win with Ben Bishop, and without him, they lose. I stated early in the season that in order for the Lightning to win games with Vasilevskiy in the net they would have to score a minimum of four goals.

For a team that struggled to score to where Bishop lost 11 games while giving up two goals or less, including five straight losses in which he gave up a total of eight goals, it is a tough order to follow.

I maintained this opinion throughout the season and held onto it when Bishop went down in game 1. So far, the stats support me.

Bishop started 60 games this season, posting a 2.06 GAA and a .926 SV%. He had an astounding 42 games in which he gave up 2 or fewer goals, and only 19 giving up 3 or more.

In the post season, he had an amazing 1.86 GAA with a .939 save % before getting hurt.  In 11 starts, he was 8-2 and gave up 4 goals on 2 occasions. Every other game he gave up 2 or fewer goals.

Vasilevskiy, on the other hand, doesn’t have a shining stats as Bishop. In 21 starts, he posted a 2.76 GAA with a .910 SV%, going 11-10 with 12 starts giving up three or more goals. His postseason play hasn’t been much better.

So far versus the Penguins, he has a 2.87 GAA with a .921 SV%. With the exception of his relief appearance in game one, he has given up a minimum of three goals. Meaning in each of his postseason starts, the Lightning needed 4 goals just to have a chance at winning. That’s a tall order when you’re playing for the Eastern Conference Championship and a shot at playing for the Stanley Cup.

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For two seasons now the mantra coming from Lightning fans has been that “Vasilevskiy is the future!” Some fans have even gone so far to say we should just trade Bishop now while his value is prime and trust in Vassy.

They have found every excuse in the book for why his stats are what they are. “He sits on the bench too much, he needs to play more so he can get into a groove” or “the defense lets him down, they need to do more to help him out”.

Well, he’s played in 5 straight games now. Against a team that Bishop defeated all 3 chances in the regular season giving up a total of 7 goals. To put that in perspective, Vassy has given up 18 goals in 6 games.

I know what you all are saying.  Regular season doesn’t matter anymore, post season is different.  It’s the same Penguins team, with the same Bolts team minus Bishop and Steven Stamkos.

If the problem with the Lightning and Vassy right now is that the defense isn’t doing enough, why is it this same defense was good enough in front of Bishop? If the problem was a lack of playing time, why do I see Vassy making the same mistakes in game 6 he made in game 2?

Yes, the Penguins have spent an inordinate amount of time in the Lightning zone. Yes, far more pucks are coming in than any goalie deserves. The thing is though, Vassy is making the saves. But on the first attempts only.

It doesn’t take long for anybody to see the play style differences. Pucks hit Bishop and just seem to get swallowed up. It’s a rare thing to see a big juicy rebound coming off the big guy, who somehow manages to control every puck that comes his way.

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This is where Vassy and the Bolts are getting destroyed and have all season. Pucks come off Vassy like he’s coated in rubber, and the Penguins have been right there to put the puck into the net for an easy goal. This is exactly how they have scored the majority of their goals this series.

To make it worse, on many of these rebounds, Vassy simply looks lost. You can tell by the body language he has no idea where the puck is, often overcompensating to the other side, leaving too much net open or not moving until the shot is made.

His poor vision was in evidence big time in game 6, with Hedman sweeping a puck out of the crease on multiple occasions while Vassy was there with no clue the puck was behind me.

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You can’t blame the defense for Vassy’s play when Bishop had so much success playing behind the same players. It’s time to accept the facts for what they are. Vasy may have a lot of potential and could have a great career as a starting goalie in the NHL, but that will not happen wearing a  Tampa Bay Lightning sweater. His abilities and skill sets just don’t mesh with the roster and play style of the Lightning.