The unacceptable attitude towards the Russian struck the fans of other clubs.
fans Tampa spoiled by three finals in a row, so the fifth line in the Eastern Conference does not suit them anymore. But to change the position of the “lightning” is not yet possible.
The Lightning ended a long five-match away streak with three wins and a point drop in their last two meetings. The result can not be called a failure, but the fans are still unhappy. And in the last away match “Tampa” once morest “Calgary” they made it clear. Fans threw jersey on the ice Andrei Vasilevsky.
The height of disrespect for the keeper, who helped the club win two Stanley Cups in a row.
spoiled fans
Vasilevsky at the beginning of this season really experienced difficulties and even gave unsuccessful segments. For example, in October he won three matches in regular time and lost four matches. In November, the statistics did not get much better – four wins and the same number of losses.
Vasilevsky quickly bounced back and began to show a stable level. Due to the autumn recession, the Russian is not yet among the top players in his role in terms of the main goalkeeping indicators, which did not prevent him from getting into the recent ranking of the best goalkeeping teams in the league. The lightning line is the second most reliable line in the league on this list. Only the Islanders are inferior to Tampa, where Ilya Sorokin staked out the first number.
But it looks like Lightning fans are too spoiled for the club’s accomplishments. If even last season only compliments were pouring towards Vasilevsky from the fans, then criticism has also appeared in the current regular season. In the match once morest Calgary, the negative towards the Russian reached its maximum. A fan threw a jersey with Vasilevsky’s name on the ice.
“It was just a drunken idiot”
For Tampa, the match once morest Calgary was the fifth on the road. And the fact that the fatigue from games outside the home arena affected the players was already evident in the first 20 minutes. “Ogonki” settled in the opponent’s zone and constantly escalated the situation at the gates of Vasilevsky. “Lightning” almost did not get out of tight pressure and did not create dangerous chances. Moreover, the Lightning players did little to help their keeper: 15 shots were made on Vasilevsky’s goal. To cope with such work is difficult even for a goalkeeper of the caliber of a Russian. So Vasilevsky still missed one goal from Nazem Kadri.
In the middle of the period, Calgary forward Milan Lucic ran to rebound behind the opponent’s goal. At that moment, Vasilevsky also rushed to the puck. As a result, Lucic neatly crashed into the keeper, pushing him slightly. The Russian reacted to this episode very emotionally: he charged the forward with his hand on the head. Lucic did not answer and calmly continued the game. However, Ian Cole decided to stand up for his keeper, who ran into the offender Vasilevsky.
Cole and Lucic staged a brutal fight on the ice, exchanging a series of direct hits, which greatly pleased the audience. In the game plan, the “lightning” did not manage to snap back. On the contrary, the Lightning did everything to give the victory to the opponent. At the end of the period, Nikita Kucherov played too roughly once morest the Calgary player: first he threw him on the ice, and then hit his hands with a stick. The defender of the “lights” Mackenzie Wigar following this episode expressed something to the Russian, for which he also received a club from him. Zach Bogosian immediately arrived, who grappled with Wigar. As a result, both Tampa players went to the penalty box, and the defender of the “lights” mockingly waved his hand following them.
Similar events seem to have turned the Lightning hockey players on. The Lightning started the second period perfectly, scoring two goals in a row. At the same time, Vladislav Namestnikov also distinguished himself. For him, this goal was the fourth of the season. However, the comeback from Tampa did not take place. Guests once more began to give the opponent to host in their zone. And in this period, the “lights” made 16 shots on target. Before the start of the final 20-minute period, Vasilevsky saved 28 shots out of 31. Usually, with such statistics, goalkeepers leave following the final siren.
The last game segment was no different from the previous ones. The guests also suffered in defense and might not come up with anything interesting in the attack. In the middle of the period, the Calgary players scored the fourth goal. Kucherov tried to get his team back into the game and assisted on Anthony Cirelli, but the hosts quickly put out another rush of “lightning” to win back. “Calgary” at the end of the meeting hit the empty net twice and won – 6:3. Tampa, following a long trip, brings home six points – a very worthy result.
At the same time, the match with Calgary will be remembered not only by the score, but also by an unpleasant incident in the end. During the face-off following the fifth goal of the “lights”, one of the spectators threw a jersey with the name of Vasilevsky on the ice. Most of the people who support Tampa were upset by this episode. Even the fans of other teams began to chastise the Lightning fans.
“I’m sure it was just a drunken idiot, but I can’t imagine being so drunk and so stupid as to be so angry that your team lost one game in a good year following three consecutive years of Stanley Cup Finals. And it was necessary to choose Vasilevsky’s jersey! — indignant bluspy88
“No one deserves what the Tampa fans have had to endure over the past 3 years because of Vasilevsky,” GritGrinder ironically
“Tampa fans don’t appreciate what they have at all. Trust me, I’m a Canucks fan, writes LeroyJanky80
“At first I thought, what a fucking idiot. Now I’m like, well, the dude doesn’t deserve the Vasilevsky jersey if he does that. No one should care what this fan thinks – comments Spikeupmylife
“My heart goes out to all Tampa fans, only three finals and two championships in the last three years are simply unacceptable, no one deserves such suffering,” writes Djenthallman
NHL. Regular season
“Calgary Flames” (Calgary) — “Tampa-Bay Lightning” (Tampa) — 6:3 (1:0, 2:2, 3:1)
Goals: Qadri, 17:58 (bol.). Toffoli, 32:18. Andersson, 37:20. Dube, 47:40. Huberdeau, 57:44. Coleman, 59:13. — Stamkos, 30:20. Namestnikov, 31:08. Cirelli, 55:58.
