After Ben Bishop posted back-to-back wins -- with one shutout -- over the Ducks and Kings, Andrei Vasilevskiy will look to push Tampa Bay’s win streak to three tonight in Minnesota.
It’s a modest streak, sure, but vitally important for the Bolts.
The team will need to go one a major run over the final two months of the season to qualify for the playoffs, and it stands to reason goaltending will play a major role in that. Neither Bishop nor Vasilevskiy have been consistent this year, but the young Russian has really struggled -- heading into tonight, he has just a .909 save percentage and 2.84 GAA.
That said, there are signs he’s rounding into form.
Vasilevskiy only has one win in his last five appearances, but has posted a .924 save percentage, allowing just 10 goals on 132 shots. The hope is that he can continue that form into tonight against a streaking Wild team, who are 5-1-1 in their last seven.
For the Wild, Devan Dubnyk starts in goal.
Elsewhere...
-- Just one other game tonight, and it’s in Winnipeg. The Jets are going with Connor Hellebuyck as the injured Ondrej Pavelec is out for a week, while the ‘Hawks with go with Corey Crawford.