Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilvevskiy of Tyumen, Russia made National Hockey League history on Thursday. He became the 40th goaltender in National Hockey League history to record 300 wins. However, the two-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time NHL All-Star, 2019 Vezina Trophy winner and 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy winner accomplished his 300th win at a record pace. In a 4-1 Lightning win over the Winnipeg Jets, Vasilevskiy accomplished the feat in only 490 games, the least number of games a goaltender has ever played to achieve the feat.
Who had the previous NHL record?
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante of Shawinigan Falls, Quebec won his 300th game on Christmas Day, 1962, in a 6-0 Canadiens shutout win over the Chicago Blackhawks. It took Plante 521 games to record 300 wins.
All of Plante’s first 300 wins came with the Canadiens. Like Plante, all of Vasilevskiy’s first 300 wins have come with one team, specifically the Lightning.
Inside Look at Vasilevskiy’s record breaking win
Vasilevskiy made 23 saves on 24 shots. He made seven saves in the first period, five saves in the second period, and 11 saves in the third period. The only Jets player to score was Adam Lowry. Fascinatingly, Vasilevskiy also got on the boxscore in the Lightning win because he took a third period tripping penalty, Tampa Bay was led in scoring by center Jake Guentzel of Omaha, Nebraska, who scored twice.
Vasilevskiy’s career statistics
Vasilevskiy has an overall record of 300 wins, 148 regulation losses, and 31 losses in extra time. He has a goals against average of 2.56, save percentage of .917 and 35 shutouts. For five straight seasons, Vasilevskiy led the NHL in wins. He had 44 wins in 2017-18, 39 wins in 2018-19, 35 wins in 2019-20, 31 wins in 2020-21, and 39 wins in 2021-22.
Vailevskiy’s 2024-25 statistics
Vasilevskiy has a record of seven wins, five regulation losses, and one loss an extra time with one shutout. The shutout came in a 3-0 Lightning win over the Washington Capitals on October 26.
With the win, the Lightning improved to a record of eight wins, six losses, and one loss in extra time for 17 points. They are one point back of the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders for a playoff spot.
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