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Tampa Bay Lightning News

Vasilevskiy will start in Detroit on Friday.

Tampa Bay is off to a disappointing 1-2-1 start to the 2025-26 season and will turn to Vasilevskiy on Friday against the Detroit Red Wings as he searches for his first win this season. The 31-year-old Vasilevskiy has an ugly 4.08 GAA and .870 SV% in three games (0-2-1), but he played well in his most recent outing, saving 25 of 28 shots (.893 SV%) in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals. Tampa Bay enters Friday's contest as -151 road favorites against a Red Wings team outscoring their opposition 13-6 during a three-game winning streak.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy will likely start Friday's game in Detroit.

Tampa Bay is off to a disappointing 1-2-1 start to the 2025-26 season and will turn to Vasilevskiy on Friday against the Detroit Red Wings as he searches for his first win this season. The 31-year-old Vasilevskiy has an ugly 4.08 GAA and .870 SV% in three games (0-2-1), but he played well in his most recent outing, saving 25 of 28 shots (.893 SV%) in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals. Tampa Bay enters Friday's contest as -151 road favorites against a Red Wings team outscoring their opposition 13-6 during a three-game winning streak.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Tampa Bay has recalled Steven Santini from Syracuse (AHL).

Santini has had short stints in the NHL in nine of the last 10 seasons, but he has never been able to establish himself as a permanent fixture, limited to only 124 career games. The 30-year-old defenseman spent most of the 2024-25 season in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch, where he scored 17 points (6G / 11A).

Steven Santini
Crozier (undisclosed) will be out Friday and is considered week-to-week.

Crozier exited Tuesday's game against the Washington Capitals due to an undisclosed injury and will be sidelined week-to-week, beginning with Friday's contest against the Minnesota Wild. The 25-year-old Crozier was off to a hot start in 2025-26, scoring three points (0G / 3A) in four games.

Maxwell Crozier
Raddysh is expected to be a healthy scratch vs. Boston on Monday.

With J.J. Moser expect to draw into Tampa Bay's lineup for his season debut on Monday against the Boston Bruins, Raddysh will head to the sidelines as a healthy scratch. The 29-year-old Raddysh has had an impressive offensive start to the 2025-26 season, scoring three points (1G / 2A) in two games.

Darren Raddysh
Moser will make his season debut in Boston on Monday after serving his two-game suspension.

Moser was issued a two-game suspension for boarding Florida's Jesper Boqvist in the final game of the preseason, and will make his season debut on Monday against the Boston Bruins. The 25-year-old Moser scored 14 points (2G / 12A) in 54 games last season.

J.J. Moser
Vasilevskiy will start in Washington on Tuesday.

On the tail end of a back-to-back, after rolling with Jonas Johansson between the pipes in a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay will turn to Vasilevskiy on Tuesday against the Washington Capitals. Tampa Bay is off to a 1-2-0 start to the 2025-26 season and will look for Vasilevskiy to record his first victory. The 30-year-old Russian netminder has an ugly 4.67 GAA and .855 SV% through two games this season (0-2-0). He was excellent against Washington last season, posting a 2.02 GAA, .929 SV%, and one shutout in three contests (2-1-0). Tampa Bay enters the contest as slight -101 road underdogs.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Johansson will start in Boston on Monday.

Tampa Bay remains in search of its first win of the 2025-26 campaign, outscored 10-7 through two contests (0-2-0), and will turn to Johansson between the pipes for his first start of the season. The 30-year-old Johansson saw limited action in the 2024-25 season as Tampa Bay's backup, posting a 3.13 GAA and .895 SV% in 19 appearances (9-6-3). The Lightning enter Monday's contest as -157 road favorites against a surprising Boston Bruins team that is 3-0-0 to start the season.

Jonas Johansson
Vasilevskiy will start Tampa Bay's season opener vs. Ottawa.

To no surprise, Tampa Bay will turn to Vasilevskiy between the pipes in Thursday's season opener against the Ottawa Senators. After the worst season of his career in 2023-24, Vasilevskiy returned to his elite ways in 2024-25, finishing as the runner-up for the Vezina trophy after posting a dazzling 2.18 GAA, .921 SV%, and six shutouts in 63 games (38-20-5). Tampa Bay enters Thursday's contest as -172 home favorites against an Ottawa team that snuck into the playoffs last season while being mid-pack offensively (2.96 GF/ GP).

Andrei Vasilevskiy