Andrei Vasilevskiy was not in the dressing room following a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. But the snapped-in-half stick lying in the hallway was all you needed to know about what kind of night it had been for the Tampa Bay goalie.

It started funny enough, with Vasilevskiy giving Morgan Rielly a snow shower to the delight of Prime Video, which was broadcasting not only the game but also the warmups.

Rielly, who had been stretching at center ice at the time, didn’t look amused as Vasilevskiy skated right up to him and put on the brakes, delivering a cloud of snow to the defenseman's face. But life comes as you fast. And it wasn’t long before the Leafs had the last laugh, pumping four goals on 14 shots past Vasilevskiy.

None of them looked all that great.

This wasn’t the Vasilevskiy that Maple Leafs fans are used to seeing. There were no highlight-reel saves. He couldn't even make all the easy saves. Midway through the second period, with Toronto leading 4-1, Vasilevskiy was mercifully pulled.

“Every time we made an error, they took advantage of it,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters post-game. “It’s just one of those nights. I look at Pacioretty’s goal, and I think that’s kind of how the night went for us.”

It certainly wasn’t Vasilevskiy’s night. He mishandled a puck on one of the goals. He was beat between the legs on another. And he seemed to blindly wave at another shot.

And yet, pulling him still wasn’t an easy decision. It never is.

Since making his debut in 2014, the former Vezina Trophy winner had been taken out of the game just 12 times. During a first-round series a couple of years ago, Vasilevskiy reportedly refused to leave his net in a 7-2 loss in Game 2 against the Leafs, with Cooper telling reporters, “That’s why he’s the best.”

On Monday, however, there was no argument.

“Listen, it looked like one of those nights,” said Cooper, who didn't say whether Vasilevskiy would get the start against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. “I probably could count on one hand how many times I’ve pulled him in our career together. But (backup goalie Jonas Johansson) hadn’t played all year, and it was time to get him in and give our guy a rest.”

With the loss, Vasilevskiy now has a 3-2-0 record this season, with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .878 save percentage. It’s early. But in his previous game, he also gave up five goals to the Senators. And considering he’s coming off a not-so-Vasilevskiy season last year and just turned 30, there has to be concern.

Just don’t expect to find any of it inside Tampa Bay’s room.

“We let him out to dry,” said Lightning captain Victor Hedman. “He’s the best goalie in the world, but he can’t stop everything. So we got to do better.”

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