TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning are managing out of superlatives to describe Andrei Vasilevskiy’s dominance.
The reigning Conn Symthe Trophy winner shipped one more stellar playoff functionality for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions on Monday night, halting 49 photographs to beat the Florida Panthers 2- and finish a 4-recreation sweep that sends them to the Jap Meeting closing for the sixth time in eight a long time.
Pat Maroon snapped a scoreless tie, batting Zach Bogosian’s shot down driving Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky before the puck trickled into the net a little over six minutes into the third period. Ondrej Palat extra an empty-web aim with 22 seconds remaining.
Vasilevskiy received his sixth straight activity, a streak that commenced with the Lightning experiencing a 3-2 collection deficit in the opening spherical. It was his sixth shutout in his last 7 collection-clinching wins.
The 27-yr-previous goaltender nicknamed “Big Cat” posted his 57th profession postseason victory, moving into a tie with Tuukka Rask for 17th on the all-time listing. He’s permitted just one or less objectives in 28 of 87 playoff commences.
When Vasilevskiy began this postseason by yielding a few or extra goals in Tampa Bay’s initial 6 games versus the Maple Leafs, mentor Jon Cooper claimed the Lightning’s assurance in him in no way wavered.
“I’m not so absolutely sure there’s considerably extra I can say about him. It’s amusing how the playoffs are 5 video games into the Toronto sequence and you are inquiring all these questions about what’s erroneous with Vasilevsky,” Cooper mentioned.
“It’s never ever a question in our locker place. A goalie’s job, if you want to be elite, is to give your team a chance to win,” the coach included. “When a goaltender offers your group a probability to win, it arrives in a assortment of ways. Tonight, it was he wasn’t permitting anything in. And we have witnessed that time and time yet again.”
The large-scoring Panthers, who averaged a NHL-greatest 4.11 objectives for every video game although compiling the league’s most effective history in the course of the common period, were being shut out for the very first time all season. The Presidents’ Trophy winners completed with a few goals in 4 online games and wound up currently being outscored 13-3 in the collection.
“They’re seriously great. I indicate, they’re Stanley Cup champions for a reason, and their evolution of how they were when a higher-flying variety of offensive crew and they found their recipe how to earn and they adhere with it,” Florida interim coach Andrew Brunette reported.
“Obviously, we aspire to be them, and this was one more learning practical experience for us,” Brunette extra. “We need to have to be superior.”
The Panthers had been eliminated from the playoffs for the next calendar year by their in-condition rivals. The Lightning ousted them in the to start with spherical in 2021.
“It’s a tough capsule to swallow. Receiving swept is tough,” Florida’s Aaron Ekblad reported. “It hurts. It stings. There’s no doubt about it.”
The Lightning joined the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens as the only franchises to acquire at the very least 10 consecutive playoff sequence. Their bid to turn out to be the initially staff in 40 many years to capture 3 straight Stanley Cup titles will continue in the East final in opposition to both the Carolina Hurricanes or New York Rangers.
The defending champs persevered Monday night time in spite of getting objectives by Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov waved off within just a 48-next span of the next period — the to start with immediately after Florida coach Andrew Brunette challenged and a prolonged replay assessment determined Palat lifted the puck out of perform together the boards just before Mikhail Sergachev fired a shot that Killorn tipped earlier Bobrovsky.
Considerably less than a moment later on, Tampa Bay appeared to take the guide again only to have replay validate Anthony Cirelli gained a faceoff in the left circle with a hand pass that Kucherov rifled by way of Bobrovsky.
“When you strike a tiny adversity like that, you’ve just bought to stick with it,” Maroon claimed.
The Panthers grew to become the initial Presidents’ Trophy winners to be swept by a defending Stanley Cup champion in the playoffs since Edmonton breezed earlier Calgary on its way to yet another title in 1988.
Vasilevskiy, who entered Monday night time acquiring offered up 1 target in every single of his former 4 online games, has allowed just one aim total in his previous 7 collection-clinching wins.
“It’s very neat to play with a player that I assume will go down as a person of the greatest goalies that is at any time played the recreation,” Killorn said. “That’s how you type of gauge gamers is how they complete in big-time games, and he’s been almost nothing but large in his activity.”
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