(Video) Andrei Vasilevskiy gives Morgan Rielly a snow shower during warmups before getting pulled in 2nd period

Andrei Vasilevskiy's antics on ice grab social media attention as the goalie gets pulled out of the game soon after riling the opponent team.

(Video) Andrei Vasilevskiy gives Morgan Rielly a snow shower during warmups before getting pulled in 2nd period

L- Andrei Vasilevskiy; R- Morgan Rielly [Image Credit: The Hockey News/Gino Hard]

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy‘s Monday night did not turn out as he expected, as the netminder got pulled early in the second period. The fan base was already riled up following his snow shower antics on Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly.

During the team’s warmups, Vasilevskiy skated right across the ice floor and in front of Rielly, splashing him with ice all over. While it seemed on purpose, the goalie did not comment on it. Furthermore, after the hit, he was seen casually doing his stretches, making it hard to believe it wasn’t on purpose.

YouTube video

Unfortunately, Andrei Vasilevskiy got pulled out within 30 minutes of the game after allowing 4 goals in the team’s 5-2 loss against the Leafs. It was the 13th time in his 11-year career that the goalie got pulled over due to failing his defense.

FS Video

Lightning captain Victor Hedman admitted that the loss wasn’t all on Vasilevskiy, but also on the rest of them as they failed to protect their goalie from constant shots from the Leafs.

We left him out to dry. He’s the best goalie in the world, but he can’t stop everything. So we got to do better.

Victor Hedman said as per TSN

Head coach Jon Cooper called on Jonas Johansson to follow up after the 30-year-old left the ice.

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Last season, Vasilevskiy marked his career-lowest score of 30-20-2 with a .900 save percentage and 2.90 GAA. While his teammates believe it’s only a matter of time for the goalie to bounce back, the results are yet to be seen.

Social media reacts to Andrei Vasilevskiy’s antics in game against Leafs

While Andrei Vasilevskiy failed to secure his spotlight on Monday night, his backup, Jonas Johansson, stopped 14 out of 15 shots in the game. During the post-game interview, Jon Cooper added that there wasn’t any harsh meaning to replacing the veteran on the ice, and it was only to “give our guy a rest.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Andrei Vasilevskiy [Image Credit: Imago]

Starting from his trolling his opponent to getting called back up, Vasilevskiy sure had an exciting night. Fans were divided on social media while judging his actions. While some celebrated the snow shower moment against Morgan Rielly, others talked about how it later came back as revenge when the Leafs won 5-2 against the Lightning.

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It is yet to be seen whether Cooper adds Vasilevskiy to the lineup in their game against the New Jersey Devils or not. They may as well go with Johansson while keeping an eye on Vasilevskiy’s performance for the rest of the season.