TAMPA, Fla. — The numbers that the Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy has put up this season — including another personal mark he set Saturday afternoon against the Blackhawks — have rightfully placed him in the middle of an MVP conversation rarely given to players at his position.
But it’s really the way the 26-year-old goaltender has been able to put his team on his back time after time, including during a pivotal stretch in the second period during a Blackhawks onslaught, that has made him a worthy midseason candidate for the Hart Trophy.
Tampa Bay’s 4-1 win over Chicago at Amalie Arena was certainly closer than the final score indicated. At times, the Blackhawks have given the Lightning fits this season, taking control of the game with a fast and relentless offensive push.
And when the Lightning were clinging to a two-goal lead, Chicago put 11 consecutive shots on goal against Vasilevskiy through the middle minutes of the second period, and he turned each one away, holding the Blackhawks off enough until forward Yanni Gourde’s goal put the Lightning up by three.
With the win, Vasilevskiy’s league-best 20th of the season, the Lightning goaltender established a new career-best streak with his 11th straight win and tied the franchise record set in the 2018-19 season by Louis Domingue.
The Lightning (22-6-2) improved to 6-0-1 against the Blackhawks (14-13-5) this season.
Before that flurry of shots in the second period, the Lightning were able to kill a 5-on-3 penalty for 1:23 in the second, and the period ended with perhaps Vasilevskiy’s finest save of the game. He stopped Patrick Kane on a breakaway, denying the MVP candidate’s backhanded shot with his left pad.
Gourde’s fifth goal against the Blackhawks this season came with 5:45 left in the Lightning’s three-goal second period at a time when Chicago had stolen momentum. Gourde swept across the right circle, held off Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan while scooping a one-handed shot with his right hand into goaltender Malcolm Subban’s body. Gourde then skated across the crease and put in a rebound with a backhanded shot past Subban.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos scored his team-high 15th goal on a power play, rifling a wrister from below the left circle off a rebound. Stamkos also assisted on a goal, increasing his point streak to six games.
Defenseman Victor Hedman recorded three assists, giving him 26 for the season, and Brayden Point’s 14th goal and Anthony Cirelli’s ninth gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead early in the second.
Chicago’s Alex DeBrincat ended Vasilevskiy's shutout bid, scoring 4:50 into the third on a shot from the slot.
