The Islanders were ousted from the playoffs on Sunday by the Tampa Bay Lightning, with general manager Garth Snow admitting, “We lost to the better team”. Johnson returned to the game in the second, but backup Vasilevskiy finished out the game in net in place of Bishop.
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With the injury to Ben Bishop, the Tampa Bay Lightning will now be forced to turn to Vasilevskiy, who posted a record of 11-10-0 record this season with a. 910 save percentage and 2.76 goals-against average.
Bishop was hurt as he scrambled to get back in the crease when his left leg appeared to get caught under him.
For the Penguins, they need to remember that this only one game.
Tampa Bay went on an offensive surge in the second period and took a two-goal lead 2:33 in. Pittsburgh Penguins’ Kris Letang (58) is seen through the glass as he is checked by a trainer during the first period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning Friday, M… A bad rebound from Murray fell right to Palat at the side of the net, and he was able to settle the puck on his backhand to tuck it home past the leg of the Penguins netminder.
Yet the sight of the Lightning’s talismanic goalie leaving the ice was the cue for a heroic performance from his replacement Vasilevskiy.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said X-rays showed no structural damage in Bishop’s leg. However he was not sure on when the goalie may return. While he’s not Bishop, Vasilevskiy isn’t necessarily a liability and he did get some playoff experience a year ago. He remained still on the ice for several minutes before being carried off on a stretcher. “When guys play in front of you like that – [with] blocked shots and box outs and just fighting for a goalie – I get some confidence”. The only playoff start of his career came in Game 4 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final, a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Ryan Callahan was called for a five-minute boarding penalty less than three minutes into the game.
Then, in the waning seconds of the first period, the Penguins’ Chris Kunitz landed a knee-on-knee hit on the Lightning’s Tyler Johnson, who went down and needed help off the ice.
After Johnson was on the receiving end of the Kunitz hit, the Lightning forward had trouble getting to the bench and eventually needed the assistance of teammates. Down 3-1 in the third, the Penguins pushed hard to try to slice into the deficit.
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Prior to the start of the Eastern Conference Final, many people made the joke about it being Friday the 13th.
