Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy on pace for U.S. Thanksgiving return

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper addressed the media Monday and gave an update on franchise goaltender Andrei Vasilevksiy’s injury progress. Cooper stated that the recovery and rehab are going well and they look to have Vasy back in the lineup around U.S. Thanksgiving or so.

Just last month, Vasilevskiy had undergone a successful microdiscectomy on a lumbar back herniation and the Bolts announced he would miss the next 8-10 weeks for recovery. The Lightning have had to rely on Swedish goaltender Jonas Johansson and Canadian Matt Tomkins to man the crease. Johansson has put up a modest 5-1-3 record and two shutouts.

Vasilevskiy has been the backbone of the Lightning for several seasons and played a pivotal role in helping them secure back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2019-20 and 2020-21, where he was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner. He helped the team reach a third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in 2021-22, where the Lightning found themselves ultimately dethroned by the Colorado Avalanche.

During the 2022-23 campaign, the 29-year-old netminder posted a 34-22-4 record with 2.65 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in 60 appearances. It was evident throughout the season and playoffs that the long seasons and runs to the Stanley Cup Finals were wearing and tearing him down. The Toronto Maple Leafs eliminated the Lightning in the first round of the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and not long after, Vasilevskiy took to the media to discuss the season. “Probably the first 30-35 games felt as usual, but then just me & my body probably weren’t on the same page. All those small injuries came out at the same time. My mistake was that I didn’t really pay attention to recovery. I kind of kept pushing myself to the limit.” In 10 seasons and 425 games with the Lightning, Vasilevksiy has a career .919 save percentage and a 263-123-28 record.