Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 29 shots he faced to earn his 36th career shutout, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
Fresh off becoming the fastest goaltender in NHL history to reach 300 wins earlier this week, Vasilevskiy recorded his second shutout of the season. His standout saves came midway through the second period, denying Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier on point-blank opportunities.
Nick Paul opened the scoring for Tampa Bay at 14:27 of the first period with a long wrist shot through a screen. Darren Raddysh doubled the lead just 39 seconds into the third period, followed by Victor Hedman’s power-play goal at 7:40. Anthony Cirelli sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final seconds, credited after Devils defenseman Luke Hughes threw his stick to prevent the puck from crossing the line.
The Lightning have won five straight games against the Devils, including both meetings this season, and hold a dominant 9-1-0 record in their last 10 matchups with New Jersey.
Jacob Markstrom made 22 saves for the Devils, who were coming off two road wins against the Florida Panthers.
Takeaways
Devils: New Jersey, ranked second in the NHL with 72 goals entering the game, was held scoreless for the third time this month, underscoring their recent struggles against Tampa Bay.
Lightning: Tampa Bay continued their streak of scoring first, marking the ninth consecutive game in which they’ve done so. The team has gone 5-3-1 during this stretch.
Key Moment
Darren Raddysh’s early third-period goal, set up by a clean faceoff win by Anthony Cirelli, gave the Lightning a crucial two-goal cushion and shifted momentum firmly in their favor.
Key Stat
Vasilevskiy’s career record against the Devils is now 9-5-0, and this game marked his first shutout against New Jersey.
Up Next
- Devils: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
- Lightning: Travel to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Tuesday night.
