The Tampa Bay Lightning have called up goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy from Syracuse. Last night vs the Penguins, Ben Bishop suffered a lower body injury and did not return to the game after the first period. As former Bolt Steve Downie was whistled for a tripping minor, Bishop seemed to get up gingerly.
In 14 games with the Crunch, the 20 year old Vasilevskiy has an 8-3 record with a 2.34 GAA and a .918 SV%. He was named AHL Player of the Week after allowing just one goal over three games.
The Bolts play the Flyers tonight. Look for Evgeni Nabokov to get the start with Vasilevskiy backing him up. The Lightning have back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, so look for the 2012 Bolts’ first round pick to get his first NHL start in one of those games. (Photo/Susan Ferlita)
Here is the release from the team:
TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League today, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced.
Vasilevskiy, 20, has appeared in 14 games with the Crunch this season, posting a record of 8-3-3 to go along with a 2.34 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. He was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week on December 15 after posting a record of 2-0-0 with a 0.50 goals-against average and .982 save percentage last week. The Tyumen, Russia native posted shutouts in back-to-back starts on December 6 vs. Rochester and December 10 at Springfield. Vasilevskiy has only allowed two goals over his past four starts and has won seven of his past eight games.
The 6-foot-3, 207-pound goaltender has shined on the international stage with Russia, earning a gold medal last year at the 2014 IIHF World Championships where he posted a 2-0-0 record to go along with a 0.50 goals-against average and .985 save percentage. He has also appeared in each of the previous three IIHF U-20 World Junior Championships with Russia. Vasilevskiy won the Silver Medal in 2012 as well as Bronze Medals in 2014 and 2013. Vasilevskiy was voted by participating coaches as one of Russia’s top three players in each of the tournaments he has played in.
Vasilevskiy was drafted by the Lightning in the first round, 19th overall, at the 2012 NHL Draft.
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