Bruins Rival Dealt Injury Blow To Star Ahead Of Season Opener
A fast start in the Atlantic Division is imperative
The Lightning were dealt a huge blow Thursday with the 2023-24 NHL season nearing.
Tampa Bay announced goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy underwent a successful microdiscectomy to address a lumbar disc herniation. The 29-year-old is expected to miss at least the first two months of the season.
Journeyman Jonas Johansson is projected to be the team’s starting goalie unless Tampa Bay makes a move.
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The injury makes it imperative for Atlantic Division teams to start the season hot, including the Boston Bruins. The Black and Gold enter the season without Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, who both retired this past offseason. And the B’s will debut a new-look squad who hope to manage expectations in the franchise’s centennial season. A hot start would alleviate concerns about the team’s first-round collapse in the Stanley Cup playoffs last season.
The Bruins already had the second-shortest odds to win the Atlantic before the season at +390, and their odds at FanDuel shortened slightly to +350. Boston’s odds to in the Eastern Conference and the Stanley Cup didn’t move after the Vasilevskiy, remaining at +850 and +1700, respectively.
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Vasilevskiy won the Vezina Trophy in the 2018-19 season and was the favorite to win his second this season. However, there was a four-way tie after his injury with Juuse Saros, Connor Hellebuyck, Ilya Sorokin and Igor Shesterkin all the co-favorites at 5-1.
Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark would be worth a flyer at 17-1 if you think the netminder can repeat his success. There has not been a repeat Vezina winner since Martin Brodeur in 2006-08, and the only Bruin to win the award twice was Tim Thomas. Jeremy Swayman also could be worth a flyer at 25-1 if his role expands to give Ullmark more rest.
The Lightning still should be a good team, but Vasilevskiy was a huge reason why they made three straight Stanley Cup appearances in the 2020s — he’s appeared in 44 more games than any other goaltender in the last four seasons, according to TSN’s Chris Johnston. But if Boston was looking for an early break, it got one Thursday.
