The future of Tampa Bay’s goaltending will be on display tonight in Philadelphia.
The Bolts will give Andrei Vasilevskiy his NHL debut when they take on the Flyers this evening, fresh off him winning the AHL’s Player of the Week award for the Syracuse Crunch on Monday. Vasilevskiy, 20, was the club’s first-round pick (19th overall) at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, and is regarded as one of the best young goalie prospects in the world.
He’ll also be the first-ever NHL goalie to wear No. 88, per Sportsnet. Veteran netminder Evgeni Nabokov will serve as Vasilevskiy’s backup.