Exciting game for non-Lightning fans
The Tampa Bay Lightning faced off against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night in a game that quickly became all the buzz around the NHL. Hockey fans tuned in to witness the high scoring, back-and-forth action. If they weren't watching on TV, they were likely scrolling through X - or twitter, whatever we're calling it - refreshing their feeds every few minutes to see that yet another goal had been scored.
What was a highly entertaining game for most fans, was an absolute nightmare for those of us cheering for Tampa Bay. As many who follow the Bolts know, they have struggled mightily against bad teams this season. So, when the Lightning jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, it was a nice change of pace - though one that wouldn't last long. The Blue Jackets rallied back, quickly taking a 5-4 lead in the second period.
Now, I'm not here to review the game (I've already done that in a previous article). Instead, I'm here to present the stats and let you decide whether the Lightning are fielding both the best and the worst goalies in the league. I'm of the belief that it's always best to hear the bad news first so I'll start there.
Jonas Johansson's start to the season can't get much worse
Sure, it's still a small sample size - and if he keeps up the poor play it will stay that way. Johansson has played in four games and started three, so for those of you who are more rational than myself, keep that in mind. His first real action came against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a game where Vasilevskiy struggled, giving up four goals. Jon Cooper made the goalie switch midway through the second, and shockingly, JoJo showed promise, finishing with a .933 save percentage and allowing just one goal.
The following night came JoJo's first start of the season against the New Jersey Devils. This is where things took a turn for the worse. Johansson posted a .857 save percentage, allowed five goals, and somehow the Bolts still managed to pull out the win. Unfortunately, that would be the last time his offense would bail him out. On November 3rd, the Lightning traveled to Winnipeg to face the first place Jets. His save percentage took yet another hit, this time ending the night with an .844 save percentage after another five-goal outing.
After these two starts I wasn't completely ready to throw in the towel. The New Jersey game was his first start of the season, against a talented team who is much improved under new head coach Sheldon Keefe. And who could blame him for giving up another five goals to Winnipeg, the league's highest-scoring team at the time? (They're now second in goals per game, behind only Washington) But, I was wrong. Jonas Johansson is simply not an NHL level goaltender.
The Blue Jackets are a good offensive team, don't get me wrong. They rank 12th in goals per game, essentially placing them in the top third of the NHL. But they are not the high-powered offensive team that the Jets or Devils are, and yet they put up seven goals on Thursday night in what was a performance to forget for JoJo and Bolts' fans alike. After the game, I immediately went to quanthockey.com and analyzed all the goalies who had played in four games or more this season. Out of the 66 who qualified, Johansson ranked dead last in GAA with an appalling 5.22 goals allowed on average. The next worst goalie, Tristan Jarry, had a 4.72, which actually looks decent when compared to Jonas's. Johansson was also 65th in save percentage at .856, only ahead of Montreal's Cayden Primeau, who sits at .845.
Vasilevskiy silencing doubters who claimed he was declining
Now, turning the page, lets take a look at Conn Smythe-winning Andrei Vasilevskiy. After posting career lows in both save percentage and GAA last season, many began to question if the Big Cat had entered the decline that every player inevitably faces. As they say, father time is undefeated. But it seems father time may have to wait at least another year before it claims Andrei Vasilevskiy as a victim.
Through 15 games, Vasilevskiy has posted the best GAA of his career, 2.13, good for second place among goalies who have started 10 or more games. Additionally, a stellar .919 save percentage puts him in the top 10 in that category as well. In his last two games, Vasy shut out the New Jersey Devils and gave up just one goal against the Winnipeg Jets, ironically, two of the teams that Johansson struggled against.
As I mentioned, it may be too early to judge Johansson - I don't think so, but maybe - but it's also too early to declare Vasilevskiy's resurgence a done deal. There's a lot of hockey left and both guys could see their performance shift in either direction. But for now, the stats create a compelling case for Vasy being the league's top netminder - and for Johansson being its absolute worst. Regardless, one thing is evident; Johansson is a liability at this point in the season. For the sake of the team, I hope he figures it out. However, it's looking more and more like the Big Cat will have to channel his Conn Smythe-form if the Bolts are going to have a shot at the ultimate prize when playoffs roll around.