After a very short conditioning stint with the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is returning to the NHL, the team announced Sunday.
Vasilevskiy was sidelined prior to the start of the season after experiencing a blood clot in his neck that required surgery. He has since recovered and got in a little conditioning in the American League.
He played two games for the Syracuse Crunch over the weekend, winning both and stopping 56 of 58 shots overall.
It appears the Lightning want him back to game speed asap as well, because the team is slated to have him start on Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
In a corresponding move the team reassigned Krister Gudlevskis to the Crunch, who was recalled recently to play a game. Gudlevskis’s recall was a part of a complex game of musical chairs that was set off by Vasilevskiy’s injury. The team claimed Kevin Poulin off waivers to get a back-up on the roster that wouldn’t mean taking playing time away from Gudlevskis.
But once the Lightning needed someone else to play in a NHL game besides Ben Bishop, they turn to Poulin, choosing instead to waive Poulin and recall Gudlevskis to take the start.
#TBLightning have recalled G Andrei Vasilevskiy and F Tye McGinn from the @SyracuseCrunch.
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 1, 2015
The team also recalled 6-foot-3 forward Tye McGinn from Syracuse on Sunday, reassigning Jonathan Marchessault back to the Crunch.