TAMPA — Lightning coach Jon Cooper on Wednesday opened the window for goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to return within the next week.
After missing the start of the season while recovering from surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back, Vasilevskiy is in line to return sometime during the road trip that starts Friday night in Carolina.
Asked following Wednesday morning’s skate if it is possible Vasilevskiy returns during the trip, Cooper responded, “There’s a very good chance.”
After playing the Hurricanes, the Lightning will return home briefly before traveling to Denver for the front end of back-to-back games Monday against the Avalanche and Tuesday vs. the Coyotes in Tempe, Arizona.
Wednesday marked eight weeks since Vasilevskiy had microdiscectomy surgery on Sept. 28. He was placed on long-term disability injured reserve at the beginning of the regular season and already has met the 10-game, 24-day to be eligible to return. Because he was on the opening-night roster, the Lightning will be salary-cap compliant once they send interim backup Matt Tomkins to AHL Syracuse.
Despite some pedestrian numbers, Jonas Johansson (8-4-4, 3.44 goals-against average, .894 save percentage) has filled in well for Vasilevskiy. Johansson entered Wednesday’s game against Winnipeg leading the league in games played (16), minutes (958) and goals allowed (55) while facing 69 more shots on goal (517) than any other goaltender in the league (San Jose’s Mackenzie Blackwood was second at 448).
“Goaltending has not been an issue for us,” Cooper said. “They give us a chance to win games. … Our game has been inconsistent. Not inconsistent that it’s 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off. It’s been 53 minutes on, seven minutes off. … We’ve got more wins than losses, and if we weren’t getting great goaltending we probably wouldn’t have done that.”
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