Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy added to All-Star Game

TAMPA — It’s been Andrei Vasilevskiy’s day, his week, his month, and even his year. The goaltender had an eventful day Monday without actually doing anything: He was named the league’s No. 1 star of the week, then added to the All-Star Game roster.

He had a heck of a week with two shutouts, allowing just two goals on 71 shots over three games. It’s been a great month, winning eight straight starts and 10 out of 12 games. Okay, this being his year might be a stretch, but that’s how the song goes (though if you go calendar year, Vasilevskiy’s in great shape).

This will be Vasilevskiy’s third straight all-star appearance. He was named to the team outright in 2017 and was a replacement goalie each of the past two seasons. Vasilevskiy replaces the Bruins’ Tuukka Rask, who said he made a “selfish decision” to spend time with his family. Rask will be suspended one game after the Bruins’ bye week.

When the all-star teams were originally announced, on Dec. 30, Vasilevskiy was certainly trending upward, but had been having an average season, not like what fans are to seeing from him. Rask and the Bruins were on fire, and Toronto’s Frederick Andersen led the league in wins.

Since then, Vasilevskiy has surged, passing Andersen to tie for second in the league with 22 wins (Andersen was third with 21 as of Monday afternoon).

This also means the Lightning will continue their streak of having at least two all-stars for the seventh straight year. Victor Hedman was slated to be the team’s only representative.

Contact Diana C. Nearhos at dnearhos@tampabay.com. Follow @dianacnearhos.