Mads Sogaard backs up Vasilevskiy as Hildeby sits ill

The call-up came out of nowhere Tuesday morning. By the afternoon, the beat had the reason: Tampa's backup was sick.

Lightning Insider

@Erik_Erlendsson

Sounds like Hildeby is a bit under the weather and the Sogaard recall was made in case Hildeby can't dress tonight against the Rangers (reminder, it's a 7:15 pm start as part of #FrozenFrenzy)

Lightning Insider@Erik_Erlendsson

#GoBolts have recalled G Mads Soogard from Syracuse. Not aware of any situation with the goalies, so we’ll have to see

So it started as insurance. Sogaard was brought in to cover the chance that Hildeby couldn't go, and the team waited to see how he felt. He didn't get better in time. When the Lightning came out for warmups at MSG, Vasilevskiy led them onto the ice and the 2nd goalie behind him was Sogaard, not Hildeby.

Eduardo A. Encina

@EddieInTheYard

Andrei Vasilevskiy leads the #GoBolts onto the ice for pregame warmups at MSG, and Mads Sogaard is on the ice instead of Dennis Hildeby. Sogaard will dress as Vasilevskiy’s backup tonight at Madison Square Garden. t.co/rzVFD9gnbI

Bad timing for Hildeby. He won his last start against Minnesota, making 34 saves on 36 shots, and was settling in as Vasy's backup. Now he's stuck in a New York hotel room while a guy who was riding buses in the AHL a day ago sits on the end of the bench at the Garden.

Sogaard is an interesting name to see in a Bolts sweater. Ottawa took the Danish goalie 37th overall in 2019, and he spent his whole career in that organization: 31 NHL games, all with the Senators, going 12-11-3 with a 3.60 GAA and an.877 save percentage. Tampa signed him to a 1-year, two-way deal on July 1, and he's been good in Syracuse so far, going 1-1-0 in 3 games with a 1.73 GAA and a.937 save percentage.

Once the lineup cards were in, it was official. Hildeby is listed as a scratch with an illness, and Vasilevskiy has the net at the Garden.

Lightning Insider

@Erik_Erlendsson

#TBLightning starters Mikheyev-Girgensons-Holmberg McDonagh-Cernak Vasilevskiy #GoBolts scratches: Sabourin, Lilleberg, Hildeby (illness) NY Rangers starters Perreault-Zibanejad-Dorofeyev Pettersson-Durzi Garand t.co/JaIhCY4Tg1

Realistically, Sogaard is there so the Lightning have a 2nd goalie dressed. Nobody expects him to play unless something goes very wrong for Vasilevskiy. The thing to watch is how fast Hildeby shakes this off. If he's back for the next game, Sogaard probably heads back up to Syracuse and this is a nice footnote. If he isn't, Tampa has a backup with NHL experience ready to go, and it's 7:15 on a national Frozen Frenzy night, so plenty of people will see it.