However, the win could come at a cost for the Lightning as starting goaltender Ben Bishop went down at the 12:25 mark of the first period with a lower-body injury. He now has three markers in the 2016 playoffs and remarkable two of them have been game-winners.
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Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop thought he suffered a serious leg injury in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins when he fell in the first period of Tampa’s 3-1 victory.
“Haven’t ruled him out”, Cooper said. He played the finals last season with a badly injured groin.
“Everything’s been really good so far with Ben”, Cooper said. “Obviously we don’t want to see Bish go down, but we knew he did go down, that Vasy would step in and battle hard for us and we had to make sure we did the same for him”. He left the ice on a stretcher, but tests revealed no structural damage. Vasilevskiy played 47:35.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS: Center Evgeni Malkin registered a game-high seven shots on goal Friday but extended his point drought to five contests, while captain Sidney Crosby has gone seven outings without a goal.
“We just hope this is the end and, you know, we’re able to get all these guys back because you’ve heard me talk many times before, let’s not let this be (Anton) Stralman’s last game, (Steven) Stamkos, (J.T.) Brown, Bishop, all these guys”. “We’ve got some depth. It’s not (an) emotional (letdown)…it’s tough, it’s the playoffs and teams are playing tough”.
The Lightning blocked 20 shots, as compared to the Penguins’ 10.
“And I think that’s got to be big, not just for him, but he’s got to jump into the lion’s den there, and he didn’t have to face anything”, Cooper said. “Obviously I talked to them afterwards as soon as I could”. The Lightning controlled play long enough after Bishop went down for Vasilevskiy to get comfortable. Johnson left the game to get evaluated, but did return to action in the second period. Palat doubled the lead 2:33 into the second when Valtteri Filppula’s slap shot smacked off Murray’s pads and – with no Penguins around – Palat reached out and slammed home the rebound.
Well, the future as arrived a lot earlier than anyone would have liked it as Vasilevskiy won his first career playoff game in relief as the Bolts beat the Pens 3-1. I’m thinking my leg is broken.
The third defeat in six games leaves the US fourth in Group B, one place behind Germany with one game remaining against fifth-placed Slovakia.
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Saturday, the Tampa Bay Lightning also issued a statement, which helped cool the furor. In the span of three testy periods Friday night, the Eastern Conference finals flipped from benign to occasionally belligerent.
