The Tampa Bay Lightning Will be without star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Vasilevskiy missed Tampa’s morning practice due to an illness, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. Encina adds that backup Jonas Johansson will start the matchup, and that Kyle Konin has been signed to serve as an emergency backup.
In a rare occurrence for emergency backups, Konin has been in these shoes many times before. He filled an EBUG role for the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this season, supported Tampa Bay last April, and got a rookie lap with the St. Louis Blues in 2022. But despite multiple appearances, Konin hasn’t yet had to step into an NHL game. In fact, he hasn’t played…