In the 3-0 defeat by the Minnesota Wild over the Tampa Bay Lightning, it was an overall off-night for the Bolts. Here are my three stars of the game:
Third Star of the Game- Andrei Vasilevskiy TBL
The losing goaltender earned a star of the game? Yes. Vasilevskiy kept the Lightning in the game for the whole 60 minutes. He saved 27 out of 29 shots faced and didn’t allow a goal in the second period. With a high-powered offense like Tampa Bay’s, Vasilevskiy made sure that even if his team was struggling to tickle the twine, that they still had an opportunity to win the game.
Second Star of the Game- Jason Zucker MIN
Zucker had himself a night, netting a hat trick. Everything went well for the winger. Against an elite-level goaltender like Vasilevskiy, you usually don’t get many opportunities to find the back of the net, not to mention three separate times, but it was done tonight. He should thank his linemate Ryan Donato for his two assists as well.
First Star of the Game- Devan Dubnyk MIN
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If you can shutout the offense with most goals per game, you shouldn’t switch anything up the next outing you have. Dubnyk was seeing everything, stopping all 25 shots he faced in the outing. And more credit should go to his defenseman as well, as they were a key component in helping Dubnyk shut down a strong Tampa Bay squad.
For a team fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, this win is huge for the team and should add a little more confidence going further. For the Lightning, they can put this game in the back of their minds, and try to bounce back in their next matchup against the Red Wings.