Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been added to the Atlantic Division Roster at the 2020 NHL All-Star Game.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been on quite the hot streak the last couple of weeks, tying the franchise record for wins in a row with 10 straight victories. As any Lightning fan is aware, this is a very stark contrast to the rough start the Bolts had this season.
Lightning fans were slightly surprised when the rosters for the 2020 NHL All-Star Game were released just before the start of the new year to see the Lightning had one lone representative headed to the yearly event. Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman was the only player making his way to St. Louis.
At the time, there was still hope for the Lightning to get at least one more player headed to the weekend-long event. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos was nominated for the “Last Men In” fan vote. Regrettably for Bolts fans, the winner of the fan vote was Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Just when everyone here in the Bolts Nation thought the 29-year-old Swedish defenseman would be doomed to make the trip to St. Louis by himself, the winds of change swept a new opportunity the Lightning’s direction. Yesterday afternoon, it was announced that Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy would be joining Victor Hedman on the Atlantic Division Roster at the 2020 NHL All-Star Game.
Shine bright, Vasy! ⭐️
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 13, 2020
He will replace Tuukka Rask and represent the Atlantic Division at this year’s #NHLAllStar. pic.twitter.com/s0Y4dI9SqX
Boston Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask announced on Monday before the Bruins took on the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly that he had respectfully declined the invitation to be a part of the All-Star festivities. Rask cited “selfish” reasons for declining the invitation.
According to Rask, the All-Star Weekend festivities fall right in the middle of the Bruins’ bye-week and he wants to use this time to get in some quality time with his family before hunkering down for what could be another long season for the Bruins. Honestly, you can’t blame a man for wanting to spend more time with his family. Regrettably, the declination will cost Rask a one-game suspension.
Andrei Vasilevskiy struggled to find his footing at the beginning of the season, but the Big Cat has been on fire over the course of the last couple of weeks. Vasy is currently sporting a 22-9-2 record through 33 games with a Goals Against Average of 2.58 and a Save Percentage of .915.
The 25-year-old Lightning netminder has picked up a victory in nine of his last ten starts, which dates all the way back to the Lightning’s 4-3 overtime victory against the Ottawa Senators. This stretch also includes back-to-back shutout performances against the Arizona Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers, respectively.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has really started to heat up over the course of the last few weeks and if the Lightning can keep putting one skate in front of the other and continue picking up points as the season progresses, the Bolts could be looking at some extra hockey this season.
Only time will tell on where the Tampa Bay Lightning will find themselves when the buzzer sounds to end the 2019-20 NHL Regular Season. Until then, congratulations to Andrei Vasilevskiy on his addition to the 2020 NHL All-Star Game Roster!