TAMPA, Fla.—Jon Cooper had every reason to be confident the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning could keep their bid for a three-peat alive.
“Our story is not finished being written,” the coach said earlier this month with his team on the brink of elimination in the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “We’ve got a lot left in us, we feel.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of the reasons.
The reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner has won six straight games since the Lightning fell behind the Maple Leafs 3–2 in their opening round series, including a Game 7 gem in Toronto and a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference semifinals….