TAMPA, Fla. — Andrei Vasilevskiy delivered a stellar performance with 29 saves, earning his 36th career shutout, as the Tampa Bay Lightning triumphed over the New Jersey Devils with a score of 4-0 on Saturday night.
Vasilevskiy, who recently marked a significant milestone as the quickest goaltender in NHL history to achieve 300 wins following a 4-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets, notched his second shutout of the current season. His most crucial saves came midway through the second period, where he made remarkable stops against Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier, both of whom found themselves with prime opportunities in front of the net.
The Lightning opened the scoring with a goal from Nick Paul at 14:27 of the first period, as his long wrist shot navigated through a screen and evaded New Jersey’s goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Darren Raddysh added to the Lightning’s lead just 39 seconds into the third period, followed by Victor Hedman’s power-play goal at 7:40. In the final moments of the game, with just 12 seconds left, Anthony Cirelli was awarded an empty-net goal after Devils defenseman Luke Hughes attempted to thwart the score by throwing his stick.
Tampa Bay has now enjoyed a five-game winning streak against the Devils, having won both matchups this season, and boasting a strong 9-1-0 record in their last ten encounters.
Markstrom recorded 22 saves for New Jersey, which came into this game on the heels of two consecutive road victories against the Florida Panthers.
Takeaways from the game include that New Jersey, which ranked second in the NHL with a tally of 72 goals prior to the game, experienced its third shutout this month.
For the Lightning, this victory marked the ninth straight game in which they scored first, compiling a record of 5-3-1 during this stretch.
A pivotal moment in the game occurred when Cirelli won a faceoff cleanly, setting the stage for Raddysh’s goal in the third period, which provided the Lightning with crucial breathing room.
In terms of key stats, Vasilevskiy improved his career record against the Devils to 9-5-0, and notably, this marked his first shutout against them.
Looking ahead, the Devils will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, while the Lightning will head to Pittsburgh for a matchup on Tuesday night.