NHL Three Stars: Vasilevskiy comes up huge in relief of Bishop

No. 1 Star: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

The 21-year-old netminder had to come in cold after Ben Bishop was injured 12:25 into the first period. He was well protected by his defense until the third period when the Penguins unleashed a flurry of 16 shots. He made 25 saves and gave up only 1 goal against.

No. 2 Star: Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning

The forward scored a power play goal to give the Lightning a two goal lead. He then assisted on Jonathan Drouin’s eventual game winning goal in Tampa’s 3-1 victory. Palat dished out a game high 8 hits 

No. 3 Star: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Hedman continues to be a burgeoning superstar. He assisted on Alex Killorn’s goal on a stretch pass from the goal line to the top of the neutral zone. The defenseman played a team high 27:41 TOI with 7 shot attempts, 2 takeaways and 4 blocked shots.

Honorable Mention: Evgeni Malkin had 17 shot attempts (7 SOG, 6 A/B, 4 MS) and won 6 of 7 draws. Matt Cullen didn’t lose his first draw of the game until midway through the third period; he was 11-for-14 in the game. 

Did You Know? From Elias: Vasilevskiy became the first goaltender to record each of his first two career playoff wins in relief efforts since Olie Kolzig achieved the feat with the Capitals in Game 1 of the 1995 and 1996 Conference Quarterfinals, both at PIT.

Dishonorable Mention: The Penguins outshot the Lightning 35 to 20. We don’t know how long Ben Bishop will be out after being stretchered off the ice with a lower-body injury. Ryan Callahan might be suspended for boarding Kris Letang. Brian Boyle was the only Tampa center above 50 percent on the faceoff dot. 

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

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