Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Struggles in Thursday's outing
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Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 24 shots in Thursday's 5-3 preseason loss to the Panthers. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
This was more about routine than results, but it's not great the Vasilevskiy struggled against what was essentially the AHL Charlotte roster. Vasilevskiy allowed five goals on 37 shots over his two preseason outings. We'll next see him between the pipes when the Lightning open their regular season next Thursday at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Patrolling home crease
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Vasilevskiy will start Thursday's home game against the Panthers, per Gabby Shirley.
Vasilevskiy started off the 2026-27 preseason on the right foot in an outing where he allowed just one goal on 13 shot attempts. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner was a force last season, compiling a 39-15-4 record, a 2.31 GAA and a .911 save percentage across 58 regular-season outings. Thursday's preseason outing will likely be Vasilevskiy's final or penultimate tune-up game before he looks to dominate once again in the regular season.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Effective in preseason debut
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Vasilevskiy turned aside 12 of 13 shots during Sunday's preseason win over Nashville.
Vasilevskiy played the entire game during his start in Sunday's preseason opener. Although he didn't face many shots, he was sharp during his first preseason tune-up. The 32-year-old has established himself as one of the league's top netminders, most recently going 39-15-4 with a 2.31 GAA and .911 save percentage across 58 regular-season appearances last year. He should continue to serve as the Lightning's clear No. 1 option in the crease during the 2026-27 campaign.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Set for preseason action
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Vasilevskiy is expected to patrol the home crease against Nashville in Sunday's preseason matchup, Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley reports.
Vasilevskiy posted a 39-15-4 record with two shutouts, a 2.31 GAA and a .911 save percentage in 58 appearances during the 2025-26 regular season. He led all netminders in wins and captured his second career Vezina Trophy. Vasilevskiy will probably be the first goaltender off the board in redraft leagues ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Good with shortened preseason
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Vasilevskiy doesn't believe the shortened training camp will impact his readiness for the 2026-27 campaign, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports Wednesday.
The NHL has reduced the number of preseason games each team plays to four to accommodate the increase in regular-season tilts from 82 to 84. The Lightning will naturally lean heavily on Vasilevskiy as they always do when he's healthy, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him reach 60 regular-season starts for the fifth time in his career. He fell just short of that mark in the 2025-26 regular season, posting a 39-15-4 record, 2.31 GAA and .911 save percentage in 58 appearances.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Season ends with brutal loss
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Vasilevskiy stopped just seven of nine shots in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Canadiens in Game 7.
Tampa Bay dominated play and out-shot Montreal 29-9 in the game, but Vasilevskiy got beat twice on shots he had almost no chance at -- one a Nick Suzuki redirection in the first period, and the second in the final frame when Alex Newhook batted the puck out of midair on his backhand from an almost impossible angle and had it deflect home off the netminder's leg. Vasilevskiy will head home and await the results of the Vezina voting after posting a 2.18 GAA and .897 save percentage over seven playoff games, following a regular season in which he had a 39-15-4 record with a 2.31 GAA and .911 save percentage over 58 outings.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Set for Game 7 start
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Vasilevskiy is expected to patrol the home crease in Game 7 against Montreal on Sunday, per Sports TV host Julie Stewart-Binks.
Vasilevskiy is coming off a 30-save shutout in Friday's 1-0 overtime win over the Canadiens in Game 6. He has surrendered 14 goals on 147 shots en route to a 3-3 record this postseason. The winner of Sunday's matchup between Tampa Bay and Montreal will visit Buffalo on Wednesday in Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Stands on head to force Game 7
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Vasilevskiy made 30 saves Friday in the Lightning's 1-0 overtime win over the Canadiens in Game 6 of their first-round series.
The Vezina Trophy finalist simply refused to let Tampa Bay's season end, producing his eighth career playoff shutout and first of this postseason in a dazzling performance. Through six games in the series against the Habs -- four of which have gone to overtime -- Vasilevskiy sports a 2.20 GAA and .905 save percentage, and he may need to come up big again in Game 7 on Sunday if the Bolts are going to get through to the second round.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Tending twine in Game 6
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Vasilevskiy will guard the road goal versus the Canadiens in Game 6 on Friday, Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley reports.
Vasilevskiy will look to extend the series after stopping 21 of 24 shots in a Game 5 loss. Vasilevskiy has allowed at least three goals in each of his three defeats against the Canadiens in the first round, while he's limited Montreal to two goals in each of the Lightning's wins. If Vasilevskiy can get the win in Friday's matchup, Game 7 will be Sunday in Tampa Bay.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Slated to start Wednesday
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Vasilevskiy is expected to start at home against Montreal in Game 5 on Wednesday, per Eduardo A. Encina of Tampa Bay Times.
Vasilevskiy stopped 16 of 18 shots in a 3-2 win over Montreal on Sunday. He's 2-2 with a 2.58 GAA and an .882 save percentage in four playoff outings this year. Vasilevskiy is gearing up for his 125th career postseason appearance. He's 69-52 with a 2.45 GAA and a .917 save percentage in his playoff career.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Nabs Game 4 win
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Vasilevskiy stopped 16 of 18 shots in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Canadiens in Game 4.
Vasilevskiy gave up both goals in a span of 3:23 during the middle parts of the second period. The Lightning didn't back down, answering with the last three goals of the game while Vasilevskiy did his part protecting the net. He's now 2-2 in this series, with this being the first game decided in regulation. The 31-year-old has allowed 11 goals on 93 shots (.882 save percentage), but he's given the Lightning a chance to pull ahead in the series for the first time. It's all but guaranteed Vasilevskiy will tend the twine again in Wednesday's Game 5 in Tampa.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Looking to even series in Montreal
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Vasilevskiy will be between the road pipes in Game 4 versus the Canadiens on Sunday, per Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley.
Vasilevskiy and his team went down 2-1 in the series in Friday's Game 3 after Lane Hutson fired the puck from the point past the Russian netminder in the 3-2 overtime win for Montreal. Vasilevskiy has conceded nine goals on 75 shots (.880 save percentage) so far in this first-round series, so if the Lightning have any chance of turning the tide, Vasilevskiy will have to be at the top of his game against a potent Canadiens offense.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Falls to Habs in OT again
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Vasilevskiy made 26 saves Friday during the Lightning's 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens in Game 3 of their first-round series.
All three games have gone to extra time, and Vasilevskiy has come out on the wrong end twice. Lane Hutson scored the winner a little over two minutes into overtime with a blast from above the faceoff circle. Vasilevskiy has a 2.76 GAA and .880 save percentage to begin Tampa Bay's playoff run, and he'll look for a better result in Game 4 on Sunday.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Guarding goal Friday
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Vasilevskiy will protect the road goal in Game 3 versus the Canadiens, Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley reports.
Vasilevskiy has split the first two games of the series, allowing six goals on 46 shots. Vasilevskiy could be the difference maker if the series remains closely contested, as he is far more experienced than Montreal netminder Jakub Dobes. However, Vasilevskiy will have to contend with what's likely to be a raucous atmosphere in Montreal over the next two contests.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Game 2 win sweet redemption
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Vasilevskiy made 25 saves in a 3-2 overtime win against Montreal in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday.
It was sweet redemption for the Big Cat, who had some struggles in a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 1 on Sunday. In fact, Vasilevskiy has struggled a lot in the playoffs since the team's back-to-back Cup wins in 2020 and 2021. According to Michael Amato of Sportsnet.ca, the star netminder went into Tuesday's game with a 4-13 record and .878 save percentage since the start of the 2023 playoffs. Vasilevskiy and the Bolts head to Montreal for Game 3 on Friday. Barring injury or a mercy pull, the Big Cat will be in Tampa's blue paint until the team is eliminated. Or wins.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Set to start in Game 2
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Vasilevskiy will guard the home goal versus the Canadiens in Game 2 on Tuesday, Erik Erlendsson of LightningInsider.com reports.
Vasilevskiy stopped 15 of 19 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Canadiens in Game 1 on Sunday. That wasn't his best work -- he had gone eight games without allowing more than three goals to close out the regular season. This series figures to continue to be a close one, but Vasilevskiy should maintain the lion's share of the workload between the pipes for the Lightning.
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Canadiens' Jakub Dobes: Aggressive in Game 1 win
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Dobes made 20 saves in a 4-3 overtime win over the Lightning in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Saturday.
Dobes was confident and aggressive all night, and he definitely outplayed superstar opponent, Andrei Vasilevskiy. It was Dobes' second career NHL playoff win, and two of the three goals against him came on Lightning power plays. He had to be sharp Saturday, especially with Montreal struggling 5-on-5. This is Dobes' net, and he will need to be sharp Tuesday when the Bolts try to avenge their Game 1 loss.
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Lightning's Jonas Johansson: Will suit up Sunday
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Johansson (undisclosed) took the ice for warmups and will suit up as the backup for Sunday's Game 1 against the Canadiens, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.
Johansson did not dress in the Lightning's final two regular-season games due to an undisclosed injury, but he is good to go for the beginning of the postseason. The 30-year-old is clearly entrenched as the backup behind Andrei Vasilevskiy heading into Tampa Bay's first-round series against the Canadiens. Johansson went 11-10-2 with a 3.29 GAA and an .884 save percentage during the regular season.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Between pipes Sunday
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Vasilevskiy will patrol the home crease against Montreal on Sunday in Game 1, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Vasilevskiy has won four of his last six outings, allowing only 13 goals on 147 shots. He posted a 39-15-4 record with two shutouts, a 2.31 GAA and a .911 save percentage across 58 appearances during the 2025-26 regular season.
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Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Not starting Wednesday
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Vasilevskiy will not start Wednesday's home game versus the Rangers as previously expected, Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley reports.
Vasilevskiy appeared to be the starter after he was the first goalie off the ice at Wednesday's morning skate, but the Lightning have seemingly changed their plans. With Jonas Johansson (undisclosed) unavailable, Vasilevskiy will be Brandon Halverson's backup in Tampa Bay's regular-season finale.
