(Raleigh) Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will return to action Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes after recovering from back surgery.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper made the announcement following the team’s morning skate.

“He hasn’t played in the NHL since April so I know he’s looking forward to it,” Cooper said. There was a lot of work to put him in this position. He worked hard and this date had been circled on the calendar for several months. »

Vasilevskiy missed 20 games after undergoing a microdiscectomy to treat a herniated lumbar disc two months ago.

A two-time Stanley Cup winner, Vasilevskiy won the Vezina Trophy in 2019 and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2021.

Vasilevskiy first felt a back problem in August and received an injection.

Treatment and a second injection failed to resolve the problem, after Vasilevskiy experienced the problem again during his first training session at camp.

Jonas Johansson took over as the starting goaltender, going 8-4-5. Backup Matt Tomkins has been demoted to the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.