Cooper, Lightning praise Vasilevskiy after Game 5 bounce back
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Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy posted his best performance of the first round on Thursday in a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The victory, which allowed the Lightning to draw back to down 3-2 in the series, came after days of criticism for the goaltender, who was questioned on his ability to handle shots launched from high in the offensive zone.
The former Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophy winner stopped 28 of 30 shots (.933 save percentage) in Game 5, marking the first time in the series he's posted a save percentage above his .915 regular-season mark.
"They dug their heels in tonight, and I think who really dug his heels in tonight was [Vasilevskiy]," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said after the win. "His name has come up a lot for various reasons over the last couple days, and I think he proved he could handle the high shots."
"Ever since I've come to Tampa, each and every night, Vasilevskiy has been our best player," forward Anthony Cirelli added. "He's back there making saves for us. He's a rock for us back there and when he's making those saves, he gives us huge momentum boosts, keeps us in games and gets us going."
The 28-year-old has been far from his usual self in the first round, still owning a .870 save percentage in the series. Thursday's bounce back came one day after he bristled when asked by a media member of what he could do better to fight through the screens in front of him.
“Buy myself like [expletive] X-ray glasses,” Vasilevskiy responded, per the Tampa Bay Times.
The Lightning will return home as they look to stave off elimination in Game 6. Tampa Bay has reached the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past three years, winning the championship in 2020 and 2021.
"When you have a team like this, you don't want to let these opportunities slide," Tampa Bay defenceman Victor Hedman said. "We've got a phenomenal team. [We] have all the tools, and these are the type of games you want to play. There's no question in that room about fatigue or that we've played a lot of hockey.
"These are the type of games we want to play. It was a tough situation going into a place like this with our backs up against the wall, but I think we responded really well."