Lightning turn to Vasilevskiy with Bishop out 3-4 weeks

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
December 21, 2016

TAMPA, Fla. – The Lightning will be without goaltender Ben Bishop for up to a month, the team announced on Wednesday.

Bishop suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury during the first period of Tuesday’s victory against Detroit. The team announced Bishop would miss 3-4 weeks.

Kristers Gudlevskis was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. Tampa Bay plays two more games before a four-day break for Christmas, Thursday against St. Louis (Fox Sports Sun, 7:30 p.m.) and Friday at Washington (Fox Sports Sun, 7 p.m.)

With Bishop out for the foreseeable future, the team will now turn to former first-round pick Andrei Vasilevskiy to carry the load for up to a month, which would be just before the Jan. 29 All-Star game. Tampa Bay has 17 games between now and then, including five sets of back-to-back games. That will be quite the workload for the 22-year-old former 19th overall pick, but he said he’s ready for whatever takes place.

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“Sure, that’s why I’m here,” Vasilevskiy said after the game against Detroit. “That’s what I’m working for every day, that’s going to be a good opportunity for me to play more games.”

Vasilevskiy has performed well this season when he has played, posting a 7-4-1 record with a 2.41 goals against average and .923 save percentage. He posted shutouts in consecutive starts earlier this season with victories against the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers. On Tuesday against Detroit, he came within 10.5 seconds of a combined shutout after coming in relief of Bishop, stopping 22 shots.

This stretch of games without Bishop will give the Lightning a glimpse in to how Vasilevskiy handles an extended workload, something he has yet to experience at the NHL during the regular season. In his first two seasons in North America, Vasilevskiy made 34 starts with Tampa Bay before this season. Earlier this season, Vasilevskiy would make one start for every two that Bishop made, and only once has Vasilevskiy started in consecutive games – Nov. 29 and Dec. 1 at Columbus and at St. Louis.

But with all signs point to Vasilevskiy, who signed a three-year contract extension on July 1 worth $3.5 million per year, taking over the No. 1 role by the start of the season, this will give the Lightning a chance to see he is ready for the grind of being the go-to goaltender.

Vasilevskiy had to step in for Bishop during the 2016 Eastern Conference finals, leading Tampa Bay to within a victory of a return trip to the Stanley Cup final before falling in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

There is confidence Vasilevskiy will be able to handle the job.

“The kid is ready to play, he’s a pro,” forward Brian Boyle said. “We have goaltending depth. Now we have to use it.”

Gudlevskis, meanwhile, has been passed by Adam Wilcox on the depth chart for Syracuse. But in his limited time in the NHL, Gudlevskis has performed well. In two career starts, the Latvian native has allowed just three goals, posting a 1-0-1 record. His lone start last season came during a 1-0 overtime loss at Chicago.

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