'Really good chance' Andrei Vasilevskiy could return on Lightning's road trip

2024-12-25 21:41:36 source:lotradecoin API category:Invest

TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper says there’s “a really good chance” that star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will return from back surgery during a three-game road trip that starts on Friday night.

Cooper made the announcement after Wednesday’s morning skate, hours before a game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Vasilevskiy, who was missing his 20th game Wednesday night, underwent a microdiscectomy to address a lumbar disk herniation eight weeks ago.

The Lightning play at Carolina on Friday before games Monday in Colorado and Tuesday with Arizona.

The two-time Stanley Cup winning Vasilevskiy won the Vezina Trophy in 2019 as the league’s top goalie and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2021 as playoff MVP.

Vasilevskiy first experienced a problem with his back in August and received an injection.

Treatment and a second injection failed to resolve the problem after Vasilevskiy experienced the issue again when he practiced for the first time in training camp.

Journeyman Jonas Johansson has filled in as the Tampa Bay starter and entered Wednesday with a 8-4-4 record and a 3.44 goals-against-average in 16 games.

More:Invest

Recommend

Our 12 favorites moments of 2024

We check out a lot of things in a given year: Lots of movies, TV shows, and music. Today, we are hig

What we’ve learned so far in the Trump hush money trial and what to watch for as it wraps up

NEW YORK (AP) — Testimony in the hush money trial of Donald Trump is set to conclude in the coming d

Miss USA pageant resignations: An explainer of the organization's chaos — and what's next

Though Miss USA has filled the void left by Noelia Voigt with the 2023 Miss USA pageant runner-up, H