The injury occurred during a practice session Wednesday in Pittsburgh prior to the Bolts' 4-3 win Thursday in the Steel City. Vasilevskiy did not play against the Penguins, instead returning to Tampa to be re-evaluated by team medical staff, where the extent of his injury was learned.
At the time of his injury, Vasilevskiy was tied for the NHL lead for wins this season (9). In 13 starts in 2018-19, Vasilevskiy is 9-3-1 with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. He's allowed two or less goals in nine of his 13 starts.
A four to six week timeline could see Vasilevskiy return as early as December 13 when the Lightning host the Toronto Maple Leafs or as late as December 27 when the Philadelphia Flyers come to Tampa.
Vasilevskiy played 65 games for the Lightning in 2017-18, going 44-17-3 with a 2.62 GAA and a .920 save percentage. He set Tampa Bay single season records for wins, road wins (18), shutouts (8), road shutouts (6) and saves (1,908). The Russian netminder finished tied for first in the NHL for wins with Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck. He started all 17 of Tampa Bay's playoff games, going 11-6 in leading the Lightning to within one win of reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
Vasilevskiy finished third in voting for the Vezina Trophy last season behind winner Pekka Rinne from Nashville and Hellebuyck.
