No team has been more resilient in the NHL playoffs than Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have a knack for rebounding from losses and closing out opponents standing between them and a Stanley Cup title.
The defending champions are 14-0 in games following a postseason loss over the past two years, a playoff streak that includes six bounce-back wins this summer as the Lightning bid for a second consecutive championship.
Vasilevskiy not only has been the winning goaltender in all those victories, but has run off a string of four consecutive series-clinching shutouts dating to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final against the Dallas Stars.
Three of those stellar performances followed losses in potential elimination games, a situation the Lightning find themselves in again after Monday night’s 3-2 overtime road loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
