Andrei Vasilevskiy justifies Lightning’s confidence

PITTSBURGH — Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy woke up Friday morning as a backup, someone who was only supposed to see playing time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs should the No. 1 goalie, Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop, have an off night.

But less than 13 minutes into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center, Bishop was laying on the ice in agony, clutching his left knee after falling awkwardly while trying to get back to his crease.

Suddenly, Vasilevskiy became the man. He wasn’t the least bit rattled in a 25-save performance that helped the Lightning win 3-1 in the opener of this best-of-7 series.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said X-rays on Bishop were negative, but Vasilevskiy will likely get the start in Game 2 at Consol Energy Center on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

It’s an opportunity Vasilevskiy relishes.

“That’s why I’m here,” he said with a smile.

It’s that confidence and poise that has the Lightning believing that not even an injury to their Vezina Trophy finalist can stop them from returning to the Stanley Cup Final. Vasilevskiy entered training camp last fall knowing he wasn’t going to receive a lot of starts (he ended up playing 24 games), but that didn’t stop him from doing everything in his power to get better. His teammates took notice.

“I think he’s definitely one of the hardest workers on our team, a guy that comes in every day and works hard,” said forward Alex Killorn, who gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead 18:46 into the game. “It’s tough when you’re a backup goalie and you never know when you’re going to get your chance. He was obviously ready tonight.

“Whenever you can have a goalie that comes in, a backup you have a lot of confidence in, it helps …

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