Andrei Vasilevskiy receives gift of defense in shutout win vs. Devils

Saturday night began with Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy being showered with gifts and cheers in recognition of his 300th win two nights earlier.

Then, his teammates provided another present — a second straight stellar defensive showing in front of their elite netminder, an effort that led to a 4-0 win over the Devils and Vasilevskiy’s 36th career shutout.

“The most important gift was that they played great (Saturday) in front of me, and they helped me out to get another shutout,” Vasilevskiy said. “So, too many gifts (Saturday).”

Coming off their six-day break, the Lightning have given two of their best defensive efforts against two of the league’s top scoring offenses.

“We’re defending the way you should defend — with numbers,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “When you’re above everything, now you’re able to defend as a group of five. You’re not putting stress on yourself. You’re doing a really good job of protecting the middle. But it all stems from just not giving up the freebies, and so you’re not giving up those odd-man rushes and defending as a group with a plan, and these are kind of the things that happen.”

Celebrating 300

After breaking Jacques Plante’s 61-year-old record for the fastest goaltender to reach 300 wins Thursday against Winnipeg, Vasilevskiy was congratulated by Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the NHL’s all-time wins leader (691), at the start of a video tribute put together by the Lightning.

“I definitely didn’t expect that, because I’m not even halfway there to get to catch him,” Vasilevskiy said “But, obviously, a huge honor that he did that for me.”

The messages rolled on, with salutes from Vasilevskiy’s brother, Alexei, and father, Andrei Sr.; then from former teammates Ben Bishop, Vladislav Namestnikov, Alex Killorn, Mikhail Sergachev and Steven Stamkos. They concluded with Stamkos’ oldest son, Carter, congratulating Vasilevskiy while wearing a Vasilevskiy goalie mask.

Vasilevskiy, who had his wife, Kseniya, and 8-year-old son, Lukas, by his side, was presented with a custom-engraved luxury watch by his teammates and a gold-plated goaltender’s stick from Lightning owner Jeff Vinik on behalf of the organization.

New-look lineup pays off

For the second straight game, the Lightning went with an 11-forward, seven-defenseman look, giving them not only an extra defender but Cooper an opportunity to jumble his lines.