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Nashville Predators Will Avoid Andre Vasilevskiy in Season Opener vs Lightning

By Chad Minton |
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - FEBRUARY 26: Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning looks for the puck after being shot by Matt Duchene #95 of the Nashville Predators in the second period during the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators at Nissan Stadium on February 26, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - FEBRUARY 26: Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning looks for the puck after being shot by Matt Duchene #95 of the Nashville Predators in the second period during the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators at Nissan Stadium on February 26, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

In what is a major story coming less than two weeks away from the opening of 2023-24 between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning, star goaltender Andre Vasilevskiy has undergone back surgery.

The huge breaking news was first reported by Kevin Weekes of ESPN, TSN and NHL Network, stating that Vasilevskiy successfully went through back surgery and will look to fully recover in the next eight to 10 weeks.


There were rumblings that Vasilevskiy was nursing some sort of injury, but nothing of this magnitude was seen coming. In fact, he had already returned to the ice for practice drills:

Anything dealing with the back is something you don’t take lightly, and the Lightning organization clearly sees it that way. The team apparently tried other ways to deal with this sensitive nerve issue and disc herniation.

You cannot risk the long-term health, even after hockey, of anyone including your franchise goaltender.

With their Vezina caliber goalie out for what looks like the first two months of the regular season, the team has to scramble to find their opening night starter who will face the Nashville Predators on October 10.

One would assume the Lightning will sign a free agent goalie and scoop someone up off the waiver wire. Vancouver Canucks just placed 28-year-old Spencer Martin on waivers, however the overall consensus points towards veteran Martin Jones, who last signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs just this past August.

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Jones played 2022-23 with the Seattle Kraken while having his worst season of his career in terms of save percentage at .886. This marked his fourth out of the last five seasons with a save percentage below 90.

The Lightning are going to have to find a veteran, with their current backups being Matt Tomkins and Jonas Johansson. Tomkins has never started an NHL game, but did played rather well against the Predators in his preseason victory on Wedneday, and Johansson has just 35 games of NHL experience.

Vasilevskiy has a career win-loss record of 8-3-1 versus the Nashville Predators with a .915 save percentage, 2.35 GAA and one shutout. He last played the Predators on November 19, 2022 and made 30 saves on 32 shots for the win.

Definitely a major blow to the Lightning’s hopes of quickly becoming a Stanley Cup caliber team again, and we’ll see if the Predators’ new run-and-gun offense is up to speed when these two teams meet on October 10 with Tampa having a significant disadvantage in the goalie matchup with Nashville.

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