It was a rollercoaster night time for Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy throughout the staff’s matchup in opposition to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Earlier than the sport, Vasilevskiy playfully sprayed Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly with snow throughout warmups, however issues took a drastic flip as soon as the puck dropped.
Vasilevskiy allowed 4 targets on simply 14 photographs, resulting in an early exit within the second interval. It marked solely the third time in his final 117 begins that he’s been pulled from a sport. Evidently, being eliminated is a uncommon incidence for the usually rock-solid netminder.
Max Pacioretty’s objective to make it 4-1 for Toronto finally sealed Vasilevskiy’s brief night time, leaving Tampa Bay scrambling. The Leafs continued to pour it on. Matthew Knies scored a fifth objective in opposition to Jonas Johansson.
The Maple Leafs Struck Lightning
Vasilevskiy’s early exit was a key second in a difficult outing for the Lightning, as Toronto capitalized on their possibilities and finally managed the tempo of the sport. This efficiency might change Vasilevskiy’s want to spray gamers sooner or later.
As Tampa Bay strikes ahead, they’ll be hoping this uncommon off-night for Vasilevskiy is only a blip on the radar for one of many league’s most dominant goaltenders. For the Maple Leafs and their followers, nevertheless, the hope is that this burst of offense is an indication of the longer term and an everyday taking place because the season rolls alongside.
