Vasilevskiy will defend the road crease in Thursday's Opening Night matchup against the Rangers, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.
To no surprise, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner will lead the Lightning onto the ice in Thursday's opener. Vasilevskiy was truly elite in 2025-26, where he compiled a 39-15-4 record, a 2.31 GAA and a .911 save percentage across 58 regular-season outings. While asking him to repeat his numbers from a season ago would be a tall task, the team's defensive unit stayed strong with the addition of John Carlson. Vasilevskiy is the top goaltender to have rostered in fantasy hockey to open the 2026-27 season, and he'll have a favorable matchup Thursday against the Rangers, who were shut out by Boston on Tuesday.