Vasilevskiy thriving since taking over Lightning net

The Tampa Bay Lightning are in dire need of points these days, the club sitting four points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot as the season enters its final month.

It's for this reason that the decision to trade away starting goaltender Ben Bishop was a risky one, even if circumstances deemed it a necessary move.

But it seems a potential crisis has been avoided, as Andrei Vasilevskiy - whose potential in net allowed general manager Steve Yzerman to pull the trigger on the Bishop trade - has been exceptional since taking over.

The Lightning have played only six games since the changeover, but that small sample size is magnified by the importance of the points to be had, as even a brief losing streak can push Tampa Bay far out of the wild-card race.

With Vasilevskiy stepping into the full-time starter role, that slide hasn't come.

While the Lightning posted one regulation loss with new backup Peter Budaj in net, the club earned points in all five affairs with Vasilevskiy in the cage, winning four of the tilts and losing one in overtime.

And Vasilevskiy's defensemen didn't make it easy on him.

He faced at least 30 shots in all five contests, topping out at 40 from the Ottawa Senators. But the 22-year-old stood tall, allowing only a single goal in four of those tilts, resulting in a save percentage of .959 over the five-game span:

With their new No.1 rolling, the Lightning have managed to remain in the hunt. It won't get any easier as they head down the stretch - especially with injuries continuing to mount - but as long as Vasilevskiy continues to hold down the fort in net and grow into his new role, it seems the Lightning will have a fighting chance.