Lightning's Vasilevskiy Among Top Goals Despite Worst Season – Hockey Writers – Tampa Bay Lightning

Now, he agreed. Last year, he was number one on the list. But the fact that he only dropped two spots says a lot about his expectations and how much he is still respected.

Vasilevskiy's Wounded Memorial

Before the start of last season, Vasilevskiy came down with a herniated disk in his lower back. The hard work of the past few years has caught up with him.

He just didn't look like himself at the end of last season. In the final 20 games of 2022-23, his save percentage was .906 after sitting at .920 through the first 40 games. In the playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he looked completely out of sorts with an .875 save percentage and three home losses in overtime.

When the news broke that he was injured, it was a huge blow, but not a complete surprise. It explained the decline. When he came back, we knew he was going to have to play after not having a full preseason and maybe not fully back to full strength.

According to the Mayo Clinic, recovery from a discectomy is between two and eight weeks. This includes jobs that involve heavy lifting and operating machinery. However, these activities usually do not involve the same physical stress that is put into a goal. So, even though it didn't make sense that he came back two months later, that didn't mean he was okay, per se.

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Head coach Jon Cooper also played Vasilevskiy a lot when he returned. He played 52 games despite making his debut on 24 Nov. The Lightning needed their prize goalkeeper in bad games with the way the season was going. But his job could have been handled better. He would probably do better if that were the case. Jonas Johansson has been decent in those first 20 games.

Vasilevskiy is not the type of goalkeeper who says no to playing. He could play all 82 games if he had unlimited energy. He's just like that. It was up to the coaches to know when he needed a break.

What's done is done. That season is over, and Vasilevskiy has had more time to recover and get back in shape. This should lead to better results throughout the season. Since he should be fit for the entire season, he will probably play the same number of games but with more breaks in between. That will help a lot.

Vasilevskiy Had His Times

The best way to describe Vasilevskiy's season is that the highs were high and the lows were low. As the pitch was high, we got a few streaks of Vasilevskiy looking like a normal guy and making the kind of saves we expect from him.

During that high, we saw the herculean numbers we would expect. Here's a look at three of his best moments from last season:

• Dec. 4 to Dec. 23: Nine games, .925 SV%, one shutout
• Jan. 9 to Feb. 15: 12 games, .915 SV%
• March 9 to April 9: 12 games, .922 SV%, one shutout

He would slow down and dominate. After that, he would get tired and struggle before he could get the best of the season again. But just seeing those lights of greatness proved to many what he has yet to offer. That's what made him end up falling more than third in the list. Vasilevskiy is the type of goalie where you need to be given a reason to knock him down, and he hasn't given many reasons other than playing in pain.

Igor Shesterkin and Connor Hellebuyck are both rightfully ahead of him at first and second on the list. Shesterkin had a strong year as usual and Hellebuyck won the Vezina last season. But we know that Vasilevskiy has a solid year to bounce back from jumping back up.

For the past three years, players have been asked the following question: If you need to win one game, which goalkeeper do you want on your team?

The answer was Vasilevskiy with a long shot each time. Even last season, he got 46.92% votes. It's 52.33% from last season, but no one else sniffs 10% of all players. among his peers, he is at the forefront of this game.

One good season is all it takes to agree to him being the best goaltender in the NHL.