VASILEVSKIY HAS EARNED CONN SMYTHE TROPHY
When the Tampa Bay Lightning captured their first Stanley Cup, having their backs was Nikolai Khabibulin, a.k.a. The Bulin
Wall.
When they win their next one — which should happen sometime in the next week — the biggest reason will be Andrei Vasilevskiy.
He doesn't have the cool nickname or the sizzling 1.71 post-season goals-against average Khabibulin did 17 years ago.
But what Vasilevskiy did own heading into Game 3 of the Final at Bell Centre was a sparkling 1.89 GAA and a playoff-leading .939 save percentage.
Oh, and the Montreal Canadiens.
How were the Habs ever supposed to beat Vasilevskiy four times in two weeks?
They've only defeated him four times in six years. It's actually much worse than it sounds.
Vasilevskiy's career regular season record against Montreal is 11-1-2.
Before Friday it was also 2-1 in the playoffs.
The two victories were Monday and Wednesday, when he gave up a total of two goals on 62 shots for a .968 save percentage.
The one playoff loss was May 7, 2015 when he came on in relief of Ben Bishop and allowed three goals on 26 shots in 34:52 of a 6-2 rout.
Vasilevskiy has pretty much made the Habs pay ever since.
He has won the last 10 games against them (again, this is being written Friday afternoon) and to go back one more, the “loss” was in a shootout, which shouldn't even really count.
That Jan. 4, 2018 night, Vasilevskiy stopped 37-38 shots but wound up on the short end of the 2-1 final when Paul Byron beat him with the skills contest goal.
It's the only blemish on Vasilevskiy's record against the Habs in 13 games, going back to April 1, 2017, when he stopped 34 of 36 shots but lost 2-1 when Alexander Radulov scored 51 seconds into overtime.
The only other `L' pinned on the 26-year-old Russian by the Canadiens was April 9, 2016, when he stopped 24 of 28 in a 5-2 decision.
Max Pacioretty scored twice that night, including an empty netter.
Alex Galchenyuk also had two, while Tomas Plekanec scored the other.
The temptation is to say Vasilevskiy is in the heads of Habs players, but only three of them are still with the team from that 5-2 game: Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault and Byron.
The other trap is to think there's something about the
Habs crest that gets Vasilevskiy fired up.
Theirs is not the only number he has.
He's also 12-0-0 against the
Red Wings, 11-0-0 against the Blackhawks, 11-1-1 against the Sabres, 11-1-3 against the Stars, 10-3-1 against the Hurricanes and 10-4-0 against the Blue Jackets.
Despite the heroics of The Bulin Wall in 2004, Brad Richards was handed the Conn Smythe Trophy for leading the playoffs in scoring with 12 goals and 26 points in 23 games.
Victor Hedman's post-season dominance was rewarded with the MVP award in 2020, when because of the pandemic-altered format Vasilevskiy set an NHL playoff record with 18 victories to go combine with the 1.90 GAA and .927 save percentage.
Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point are doing very special things offensively in this post-season tournament, maybe it's time a Lightning goaltender is recognized with the Conn Smythe.
Barring an unforeseen collapse or a sudden Habs uprising, Vasilevskiy should be given the award.
And a cool nickname.
OFF THE TOP: No matter what happened Friday night, Montreal is going to have to win consecutive games in this series at some point. Now, about that 12-0 record the Bolts have in playoff games immediately after a loss that dates back to the four straight defeats they suffered at the of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019 — they have outscored the opposition 47-17 in those games. Clearly, they're surly after a loss ... One more Vasilevskiy note — this year he has become just the 10th goalie in playoff history to allow less than two goals in 10 playoff games. The only `tender to achieve the feat multiple times is Martin Brodeur, who did it three times
... For what it's worth, Edmonton is being talked about most as the trade destination for Duncan Keith.
DOTTED LINES: First Owen Power, now Matthew Beniers. Projected to be the first two players selected in this month's entry draft, both say they are “leaning toward” Michigan University next season rather than make the jump to pro hockey. “We're going to have a really good group, a lot of good players, and we're going to get a real run at a national title,” said Beniers, a centre. “But we'll see what happens. what team drafts me and what they think. It's kind of like a family decision.” Buffalo and Seattle have the first two picks ... Joel Eriksson Ek might be underappreciated by fans who don't closely follow the Minnesota Wild, but not by the that team. The Wild signed the 24-year-old forward to an eightyear, US$42 million extension on Friday. That's an annual average value of $5.25 million, to save you the math. “I've been here for four years now, 4 1/2 almost, and it's been nothing but great,” said Eriksson Ek, who was picked 20th overall in the 2015 entry draft. “The fans, the city and everybody on the team is amazing. I love it here. We have a great team. I really feel like we can win.” Meanwhile, there's a reason Eriksson Ek is underappreciated by fans who don't follow the Wild closely. He had career highs this season in goals (19), points (30), plus-minus (plus-16), and faceoff percentage (47.1) in 56 games. The numbers are underwhelming.