Vasilevskiy stops 28 shots, Hagel scores 2 goals
Brandon Hagel scored twice in a three-point outing, Andrei Vasilevskiy notched his third shutout this season and the Tampa Bay Lightning blanked the visiting Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Thursday night.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was back in action Thursday after missing a game with an illness. Now, backup Jonas Johansson is sidelined.
The shutout was Vasilevskiy's third of the season and 37th in the NHL. He had missed Tuesday's game with an illness, but was no worse for the wear against the Kings. Vasilevskiy sits in the NHL's top-10 in GAA (2.
Tampa Bay snapped their two-game losing streak on Thursday night, moving ahead of the Boston Bruins in the wild-card standings.
There have been many nights recently when the Lightning looked at the scoreboard and wondered what they had to do to score more goals. Despite a number of chances, Tampa Bay found itself stymied by a maddening mixture of hot goaltenders,
The Lightning finally had some breathing room. That proved to be important when the Kings received a power play at 17:03. They pulled Rittich for an extra attacker. The Lightning held Los Angeles to only one SOG during the six-on-four (a long-range attempt from Drew Doughty) before Cirelli tracked a Hagel clear and tallied an empty-netter at 18:43.
Vasilevskiy (illness) will start at home versus the Kings on Thursday, Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida & Sun reports. Vasilevskiy was unable to suit up Tuesday, but it appears he's healthy enough to take Thursday's start.
When Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy trudges down the tunnel at Amalie Arena to begin pregame warmups, his mask appears white with only faint gray and pale blue markings. When the two-time Stanley Cup champion netminder hits the ice, that’s when the magic begins.
According to Benjamin Pierce of the Tampa Bay Lightning, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (illness) is viewed as a game-time decision on Thursday for their contest against the Los Angeles Kings. No. 2 goaltender Jonas Johansson (lower body) is also in questionable status for this game.
Marc-Andre Fleury, playing his final game in his home province, recorded his 76th career shutout as the visiting Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Thursday. Fleury made 19 saves while tying Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito for the 10th-most shutouts in NHL history.
Marc-Andre Fleury, playing his final game in his home province, recorded his 76th career shutout as the visiting Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Thursday.