TAMPA, Fla. _ Goaltending is crucial in the playoffs. To some extent, that can be said about every element of the game. But few factors can lift or sink a team like the netminder.
The Lightning have an elite goaltender. That was re-affirmed on Friday with Andrei Vasilevskiy being named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the third year in a row _ he's only been a full-time starter for three seasons.
Vasilevskiy won the award, granted to the NHL's top goaltender as voted by the league's general managers, last year when he backstopped the Lightning through a historic regular season. This season wasn't quite on that level, but Vasilevskiy finished it strong.
He led the league in wins again this season at 35 _ and that stat tends to correlate with the GMs' choice for goalie of the year.
The season started off shaky for both Vasilevskiy and the Lightning. He didn't necessarily play poorly but he wasn't at the standard he has set for himself. By mid-December, he looked like the goalie the Lightning had signed to an eight-year, $76 million contract in the offseason.
Vasilevskiy went on a 21-game point streak (19-0-2) from Dec. 17 to Feb. 15. From that Dec. 17 date on, he led the league in save percentage at .924 (compared to his season total of .917, tied for 14th).
Coming out of last year's playoff disappointment in which he looked rather pedestrian, Vasilevskiy was one of few players to stand up and say, "I have to do better."
Lightning goalie coach Frantz Jean thinks establishing a baseline is crucial for a player to do well in the playoffs. There are special players who can elevate their game in the postseason, but for most how they do reflects how they trained in the regular season.
"I truly believe in times in pressure you fall back to the level of your training," he said. "When (elite players) fall back to their standard, it's still better than everybody else."
When the pressure mounts and the fatigue sets in, that baseline determines what level of play anyone can maintain. This year, that baseline is a little tricky.
Vasilevskiy holds himself to a high standard. He had to learn to take days off to let his body heal rather than keep training at the max all the time. But, like everyone else, he's had four months away from the ice.
Rollerblading on Bayshore Boulevard helped, but that only goes so far.
"Of course, it's hard because my cardio isn't that great the first few days," Vasilevskiy said. "Two, three more weeks and I'll be ready for the playoffs, I hope."
That preparation is hard for a goalie, who might need game time even more than skaters. In drills, goaltenders know where the shots are coming from and what's going to happen. In games, they don't.
To be fair, most goalies don't take shots from Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point in scrimmages. But every team has a sharpshooter, and even if a goalie can get his conditioning up and sharpen his skills, that still doesn't account for the pacing of a game.
Jean said the ability to focus throughout a game presents a challenge with a short time to prepare to play after a stoppage. He pointed out in a practice, goalies are constantly taking shots. In a game, there are longer stints when play is at the opposite end and special teams can disrupt the flow.
Vasilevskiy has matured in the six years since he made his debut, especially in his three years as a starter. Jean sees it in how Vasilevskiy handles adversity, particularly how he responded to the slow start in the fall.
"He never panicked," Jean said. "It was, let's find solutions, let's go back to the film and really break it down. Let's adjust and building what we need to build to get back to an elite level."
Vasilevskiy, with the help of Jean and Lightning sports psychologist Ryan Hamilton, found his way back at the start of the season. Now he has to do the same thing in a different way to get back to form with only two weeks of training camp, one exhibition game and the round robin before the playoffs.
