Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy makes his home season debut
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will finally be back on Amalie Arena ice tonight against Pittsburgh.
Vasilevskiy missed the first 20 games of the season while recovering from surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back. In his first game back, on the road at Carolina last Friday, he made 22 saves in an 8-2 win.
“There is a ton of work (that) has gone in to get him to this spot. He has worked his tail off, and this was the date circled on the calendar months ago and we hit the target date,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said before the Hurricanes game.
Thursday’s game marks Vasilevskiy’s first on home ice since last season ended with a first-round playoff exit against Toronto in a Game 6 overtime loss on April 29.
Vasilevskiy, 29, is a two-time Stanley Cup winner and a past winner of the Vezina (league’s top goalie) and Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) trophies.
