This injury could cause trouble for the Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the best teams in the NHL for the last decade. They have been to the Stanley Cup Final four times since 2015 and have won it twice.

One of the biggest keys to their success has been great goaltending. They had Ben Bishop in the early days of this run but they turned to the much younger Andrei Vasilevskiy at one point. Since then, he has become the best goalie in the league.

In fact, he has a claim as one of the five greatest goaltenders who ever lived. All of the accomplishments that he has had in his career are no joke. He will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

He will also start the 2023-24 season on the injured reserve as he had back surgery on Thursday. As a result of the injury, he is going to miss the first two months of the regular season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning must tread water without Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Obviously, taking the best goalie in the world out of their lineup is going to be a big blow to their group. Winning games will certainly be more of a challenge without him.

This is the type of player who loves playing goalie and loves winning. He doesn’t even like coming out when his team is getting destroyed. It is very rare for head coach Jon Cooper to pull him because he respects his wishes that much.

All the Lightning need to do is tread water while Vasilevskiy is out. The Atlantic Division is tough but they have what it takes to stay afloat. If they can do that and he meets his timeline, the Lightning will be okay.

Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and Florida Panthers are going to be trying to get out ahead of them early. Even teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and Ottawa Senators have a shot.

As a hockey fan, Vasilevskiy will be missed. He is incredible and entertaining to watch. Hopefully, he comes back healthy and better than ever as the season gets into December. If he does, as mentioned before, Tampa will be just fine.