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Tampa Bay Lightning News
On Monday, Vasilevskiy (blood clot) skated for the first time since vascular surgery.

Vasilevskiy underwent vascular surgery to remove a blood clot near his collarbone on September 3rd, but returned to the ice this afternoon. Vasilevskiy is expected to miss 2-3 months from the date of his surgery, which would put him on target to return in early-November at the earliest. Ray Emery was brought in on a professional tryout to potentially serve as Ben Bishop’s backup while Vasilevskiy is on the shelf.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy will miss 2-3 months after having surgery last Thursday to remove a blood clot from near his left collarbone.

Vasilevskiy appeared poised to push Ben Bishop for starts right out of the gate, but he will now miss at least the first month of the season. For fantasy owners drafting Bishop, it would be wise to invest in the 21-year-old Vasilevskiy--especially now considering his draft-day value will be much lower.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy leads the Lightning onto the ice for warmups.

Vasilevskiy is scheduled to get one start per week and with the Lightning on the tail-end of a back-to-back, he is expected to get the nod tonight vs. Toronto. Vasilevskiy made 33 saves in a 4-3 win over Florida in his last start. Vasilevskiy is an excellent option tonight against a Maple Leafs team who have lost seven of eight.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
No morning skate for the Lightning; Vasilevskiy probable to start vs. the Maple Leafs.

Vasilevskiy is scheduled to get one start per week and with the Lightning on the tail-end of a back-to-back, he is expected to get the nod tonight vs. Toronto. Vasilevskiy made 33 saves in a 4-3 win over Florida in his last start. Vasilevskiy is an excellent option tonight against a Maple Leafs team who have lost seven of eight.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Hedman officially listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Hedman was listed as questionable after suffering a lower-body injury last night, but has now been officially given a “day-to-day” tag, which suggests that he will not play tonight vs. the Maple Leafs. Slater Koekkoek has been recalled from Syracuse (AHL) and is expected to make his NHL debut.

Victor Hedman
Hedman is questionable for Tuesday’s game with an undisclosed injury.

Hedman left yesterday’s game with an undisclosed injury and did not return. The injury could keep him out of Tuesday’s game in Toronto and would be a massive blow to the Lightning’s blue line, who recently lost Jason Garrison and Andrej Sustr.

Victor Hedman
Vasilevskiy was the first goalie off of the ice for the Lightning.

Vasilevskiy allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Lightning’s loss to the Jets on March 14th. Vasilevskiy has gone 6-4-1 with a 2.35 GAA and .918 SV% in 11 starts and two relief appearances this season. Tonight he will start against a Panthers team who have won five of his last seven starts.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy gets the nod on Saturday vs. Winnipeg.

Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 35 shots in the Lightning’s 5-4 win over the Stars last Saturday. Tonight will be his one start of the week, that he is expected to get for the remainder of the season. He has won each of his last two starts while stopping 59 of 63 shots (.937 SV%). He has never faced the Jets and has never lost at home—3-0-0 / 2.02 GAA / .934 SV%.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy will starts Saturday vs. the Stars.

Vasilevskiy stopped all 28 shots that he faced to earn his first career shutout on Tuesday vs. Buffalo. It was a big milestone for the 20-year-old who will continue to see starts down the stretch to keep Ben Bishop fresh. Tonight he will take on a Dallas team who may not play a lot of defence, but can score with the best of em.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy will get 1-2 starts per week the rest of the season.

The Lightning want to make sure that Ben Bishop is mentally and physically ready for the playoffs, so they will give Vasilevskiy at least one start every week for the rest of the season. With 20 games left, he is looking at 6-10 starts the remainder of the way, making him a strong goalie add.

Andrei Vasilevskiy