The Tampa Bay Lightning have been missing their rock for the entire 2023-24 National Hockey League campaign, but that could finally be changing on the team's upcoming three-game road trip.

Bolts coach Jon Cooper said there's a “really good chance” that superstar goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy returns, if not Friday night, then at least at some point during the trip, according to The Associated Press.

Cooper shared the news after Wednesday's morning skate, just hours before the club takes to the ice against the Winnipeg Jets at Amalie Arena.

Vasilevskiy will miss his 20th game of the season after undergoing a microdiscectomy to address a lumbar disk herniation eight weeks ago. In his absence, journeyman Jonas Johansson has been stepping up and playing solid between the pipes.

The fill-in starter sports an 8-4-4 record with a 3.44 goals-against average over 16 games. It's not amazing, but the team probably couldn't have asked for much better from a goalie who has never earned an NHL starting spot.

And it seems like the Russian superstar could be ready to take back the starter's net as soon as this weekend.

Vasilevskiy's return coming at perfect time for Lightning

Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Jonas Johansson and Mikhail Sergachev all in image, hockey rink in background, TB Lightning logo

And Vasilevskiy's impending and highly-anticipated season debut couldn't have come at a better time for a 9-6-4 Lightning team. Tampa Bay has won three games in a row, but overall have struggled to string wins together this year.

The Lightning currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, which isn't ideal for a club that boasts this much talent. Vasilevskiy should help to calm things down and help the Bolts play a more offensive style, and he'll need to be sharp right off the bat.

It's a difficult three-game road trip, with tough matchups against the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche on tap Friday and Monday night, respectively. They'll finish up at Mullett Arena against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday before flying back to Florida.

Vasilevskiy is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, and won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie in 2019 and Conn Smythe Trophy in 2021 as the postseason's Most Valuable Player.

Already considered one of the greatest goalies of all time, it goes without saying that the Tampa Bay Lightning are a completely different team when Andrei Vasilevskiy is healthy. And it looks like that time may have finally come.