• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning Goaltending

THW’s Goalie News: Still Streaking, Stick Flips & Pad Saves

By Greg Boysen January 30th, 2020

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Wednesday night’s National Hockey League action provided us with plenty of newsworthy storylines. The league’s hottest team and goaltender kept on earning points out in Hollywood. Plus, a couple of fantastic saves highlighted a huge night in the Pacific Division.

Lightning, Vasilevskiy Keep on Rolling

We have written a lot about 2019 Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy lately and rightfully so. It seems that Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning can do no wrong these last few weeks.

They found a way to win again on Wednesday night by beating the Los Angeles Kings, 4-2, after allowing the first two goals of the game. They are 13-2-1 in their last 16 games and are just five points behind the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Atlantic Division standings.

Andrei Vasilevskiy Tampa Bay Lightning
Vasilevskiy is a true road warrior.(Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Vasilevskiy made 32 saves to extend his personal point streak to 14 games. Since Dec. 17, he has gone 12-0-2. He is two games shy of tying the franchise record for the longest point streak by a goaltender, which was set by Nikolai Khabibulin in 2003.

While he is close to the overall franchise record for points in consecutive games, Vasilevskiy set another one in Los Angeles. With his win, he is 8-0-2 in his last 10 road games dating back to Nov. 29. No Lightning goaltender has ever had a longer point streak away from home. During the streak, he has posted a 1.88 goals-against average (GAA), .939 save percentage (SV%) to go with one shutout.

Rittich Signs Off with a “Bat Flip”

Wednesday night was a big night in the Pacific Division, with the biggest game taking place in Alberta. The Edmonton Oilers hosted the Calgary Flames in a game that many thought would provide some fireworks and they were not disappointed.

Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk settled their score with a first-period fight. Andrew Mangiapane scored two goals for the Flames, but the Oilers erased three separate one-goal deficits to force overtime and a shootout.

Goaltender David Rittich, who made 31 saves in the win, came up with a huge stop on All-Star Leon Draisaitl in the last round of the shootout. As Draisaitl approached, Rittich made an aggressive move out of his crease to poke check the puck away. He then celebrated with a stick flip before being joined by his teammates.

“It was a hard game. They had a really good first period, especially the second half,” Rittich said after the game. “They had a lot of shots, a lot of good looks. We took over in the second — two tough goals that they scored. Thank God for [Mangiapane]. He got a couple goals, and we went into the third up 3-2. The third one, I should say, I kind of gave them one point here.”

Markstrom Goes Old School

Meanwhile, in San Jose, the Vancouver Canucks maintained their two-point lead over the Flames in the standings with a 5-2 victory at the Sharks. The Canucks used four third-period goals and 38 saves by Jacob Markstrom to win their fourth straight game. Since Dec. 19, the first-place Canucks have gone 13-3-0 and sit atop the Pacific Division.

Markstrom’s best save came when his team was trailing 2-1 in the second period. Sharks forward Kevin Labanc thought he had a sure goal on his stick, but the All-Star goalie had other ideas. Markstrom went down to try and make an old-school, double pad stack save and then, somehow, got his left leg up to keep the puck out of his net.

“Good teams find a way,” Markstrom said from the winning locker room. “We want to play a good 60 minutes. It’s a huge win. We play for each other, we play for the guy next to you, and we’ve got to keep doing that.”

  • Tags
  • Andrei Vasilevskiy
  • David Rittich
  • Jacob Markstrom
  • Top Story
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 26th 6:20 PM
Calgary Flames

Tkachuk Shows His Ignorance Discussing Maple Leafs’ Campbell Injury

Jan 26th 6:10 PM
Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights Reaping the Rewards of Zach Whitecloud’s Development

Jan 26th 6:00 PM
Buffalo Sabres

Sabres Outlook After First 6 Games of 2020-21

Jan 26th 5:50 PM
Winnipeg Jets

Jets’ 2021 Offseason Free Agent Preview

Jan 26th 5:05 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Unlikely to Call Up Former Fan Favourite Darling

Jan 26th 4:40 PM
Archives

The NHL’s Best Farm Systems Ranked – 2020-21 Season Update

Jan 26th 4:32 PM
Archives

Jimmy Howard’s Red Wings Legacy

Jan 26th 4:25 PM
Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins Not Playing to Full Potential in Comeback Wins

Jan 26th 4:15 PM
Colorado Avalanche

Mediocre Avalanche Road Trip Plagued by Inconsistency

Jan 26th 4:05 PM
Buffalo Sabres

Sabres Coach Ralph Krueger is a Jack of All Trades

Editor’s Picks
Wayne Gretzky - The Great One's 10 Most Unbreakable Records

Wayne Gretzky - The Great One's 10 Most Unbreakable Records

Test Your Wayne Gretzky Knowledge With Our Quiz

Test Your Wayne Gretzky Knowledge With Our Quiz

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information