Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tyumen, Russia was just named the National Hockey League first star of the week for his remarkable back-to-back shutouts. Now he has a shutout in three straight games.
On Tuesday, Vasilevskiy made 28 saves as the Lightning beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. He made 11 saves in the first period, seven saves in the second period, and 10 saves in the third period.
Vasilevskiy began the three-game shutout streak on February 22, when he blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0. That was followed by a 5-0 win over the Stars this past Saturday.
During the streak without giving up a goal, Vasilevskiy has now made 73 saves. He is also the 70th goaltender in NHL history to not give up a goal in 200 straight minutes of action. Vasilevskiy is currently at 200 minutes and 45 seconds. The Lightning franchise record for the longest streak without giving up a goal is John Grahame of Denver, CO, at 200 minutes and 46 seconds according to Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press. So even if Vasilevskiy gives up a fluke goal on the opening faceoff from center ice at the beginning of the first period in his next start, he will still be in the Stars record books.
Vasilevskiy also has an outstanding streak going against the Stars. According to The Guardian, he is the first Lightning goaltender to shutout a team three straight games (regular season and playoffs). Vasilevskiy also shutout the Stars 2-0 in game six of the Stanley Cup Finals in Edmonton on September 28.
In the Lightning win over the Stars on Tuesday, Tampa Bay got goals from Yanni Gourde of Saint-Narcisse-de-Beaurivage, Quebec, and Ondrej Palat of Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic. Tampa Bay is also in a first place tie in the NHL’s Central Division. The Lightning are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes. Both teams are at 31 points.
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