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Photo Credit: The Seattle Times
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The NHL has a vast history. The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the newer franchises compared to the original six. The Bolts have won three Stanley Cups in 2004, 2021, and 2022. In the 2021 and 2022 Cups, the Lightning had goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in the net. In 2004, Tampa Bay had Nikolai Khabibulin help win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. After Khabibulin, the Lightning had to figure out who was going to be their goaltender. It was a blessing in disguise when they drafted Vasilevskiy. In last night’s game, he set an NHL record as the fastest to 300 wins as a goaltender in NHL history.
The goaltender that Vasilevskiy passed was Hall of Famer Jacques Plante. Plante played for one of the original six franchises, the Montreal Canadiens. Many Habs fans say that Plante was the best goaltender in franchise history. He got his 300th victory in 1963 in his 528th game. Plante did not have the benefit of shootouts and lack of ties. The NHL has changed since he retired. Vasilevskiy got his 300th win last night in a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. For the ones that were either at the game or watching on TV, he earned the win. He made some great saves to help the Lightning end a four-game losing streak. Also, this was just the second loss for the Jets.
Vasilevskiy got his 300th win in his 490th game. He was either tied or led the league in wins for five straight seasons. These seasons are 2017-18 through 2021-22. He collected 259 wins in 400 games. This is the 11th season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has a Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL in 2019. He stated that last year was tough. His stats were a career .900 save percentage and a record of 30-20-2. Vasilevskiy had back surgery before last season, and it showed. This year has been very different; he has a .913 save percentage and a 7-5-1 record. The Lightning has gone through some major changes. During the offseason, they lost former captain and fan favorite Steven Stamkos. The team has done very well despite losing Stamkos.
It was a good move since the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted him in 2012. He has helped them win back-to-back Stanley Cups. It was great to see him accomplish this feat. Since Stamkos left and went to the Nashville Predators the Lightning have named defenseman Victor Hedman as the new captain. Tampa Bay sits fourth in the Atlantic just one point behind the third-place Boston Bruins. They also are just five points behind the Florida Panthers, but the Panthers have played two more games than the Lightning. The Bolts have a great goaltender and one that has a great future. The season has just started, and Tampa is off to a good start. With all the great goalies that have played in the NHL, it is great to see a team that is based in the state of Florida. Florida is not a hockey state so go figure.
How big is this Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning? Leave a comment below.
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Director of Operations for NGSC Sports
Covers USF Athletics in Football, Baseball, Lacrosse, and Softball.
Also covered both major and minor league baseball in the Tampa Bay Rays and Clearwater Threshers.
He also covers college football bowl and conference championship games.
It might seem like just covers team sports he also covers both the PGA & LIV Tours and writes and announces for the Pinellas Park High School Patriots in football and basketball.
He also has two sports podcasts in the P&W Sports Report and The Walker Report.
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