Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop left Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday night in the first period with an apparent injury to his left leg.
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Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist would get the team within two late in the second period with a powerplay goal, but that would be it for Pittsburgh. He is still considered day-to-day and although his status for Game 2 is in doubt, he hasn’t been ruled out for sure.
After the play happened, Bishop writhed on the ice in pain for several minutes and was stretchered off.
Bishop had stopped all nine shots he faced in the first period before his injury.
J.T. Brown – An upper-body injury left the Lightning winger on the sidelines for four weeks, but he returned to action for Game One against Pittsburgh, playing 8:33, the lowest ice time among Tampa Bay forwards.
“We lead the league in penalties”, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
Although Vasilevskiy is 21, he did replace an injured Bishop in last year’s Stanley Cup final and beat the Chicago Blackhawks in a game. Lightning D Anton Stralman (broken left leg, out since March 25) is skating again, but isn’t ready to return.
Then, elation as the Lightning scored their first goal against the Penguins just before the end of the first period.
The one thought that didn’t even occur to Bishop was whether backup Andrei Vasilevskiy could do the job.
What a difference a night’s sleep in the Steel City made to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s lineup prospects.
But Bishop, 29, was relieved that he is dealing with a short-term injury. Although Pittsburgh’s defense didn’t play exceptionally well, goaltender Matt Murray looked a bit out of his zone and struggled to corral and keep up with the puck. According to Cooper’s count, the Lightning outshot Pittsburgh 11-2 right after Vasilevskiy entered the game.
Maybe, but the Lightning tested that mettle early when Callahan crunched Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang in the corner less than three minutes in, sending the star defenseman slumping to the ice.
“I don’t think they saw our best today”, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.
“He’s obviously really big and really comes out and challenges pretty well”, Cole said. They led the Pacific Division for most of this season before finishing one point out of first place.
Shortly after Killorn put the Lightning up 1-0, Penguins forward Chris Kunitz took a run at Lightning forward Tyler Johnson.
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And after all that, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who also has been out for the entirety of the postseason due to a blood clot issue, participated in a full practice Sunday. Cooper did not reveal a timetable for Bishop’s return.
