Tampa Bay Lightning G Ben Bishop Thankful Injury Wasn’t More Serious

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender speaks about his injury sustained in the latter moments of the first period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

It’s pretty safe to say that every single Tampa Bay Lightning fan in and around the Bolts Nation gasped in disbelief and horror when Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop went crashing to the ice and didn’t move for quite some time in the latter part of the first period of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

As soon as fans saw the stretcher brought out on the ice, everyone’s mind started to fear the worst. Did Ben Bishop just break his leg? Did he reinjure the groin muscle he tore in the Stanley Cup Final last season? More importantly, did this mean the end of his season?

While Ben Bishop was transported to a local hospital to be evaluated, the game continued on. Fears continued to mount as there had been no update on Bishop’s condition. Thankfully, by the end of the game word had been passed along that all of his x-rays had come back negative. This meant at the very least he hadn’t broken anything. This still left many remaining questions, most of all, how long he’d be away from the ice.

Tampa Bay Lightning fans were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief on Saturday afternoon as it was announced that Ben Bishop has been listed as day-to-day with a Lower Body Injury. The announcement would assure fans Ben Bishop’s injury wasn’t nearly as bad as initially believed.

On Sunday evening, Ben Bishop spoke to the media about the incident, what was running through his mind at the time, and how he feels now that he has had some time to rest. The one resounding message to come out of the press conference is Bishop was incredibly thankful the injury was not as bad as initially believed and more so that he leg was not broken.

"“It was a scary experience for myself,” Bishop said. “You saw the play. I fell back and felt something I never felt before and just pain right away. You know, your mind starts racing and you start thinking the worst thing. I’m thinking my leg’s broken. Then, your mind just starts spinning and I was really scared. Obviously, I went off the ice and got everything checked out and everything. All the x-rays were negative and the MRIs were ok.”"

You could tell from the look on Bishop’s face that he is incredibly relieved that his injury was far less serious than his mind allowed him to initially believe. This is not to say his relief didn’t come with more than his fair share of pain. Bishop described the incident as “one of the scariest things that has ever happened to him.”

"“So now it’s just a matter of getting back to where it feels good again, but definitely one of the scariest things that’s happened to me. It’s funny when something like that and your mind just starts racing and just thinking the worst. Luckily, it’s not that bad.”"

The only thing Bishop did not elaborate on is when he would be able to rejoin his team on the ice. The good news is that Bishop is listed as day-to-day. There is always a small chance he could be ready for Game 2 on Monday night, but if we had to place our bets, we would think Bishop won’t be rejoining the team until they make their way back to the Amalie Arena for Game 3 on Wednesday night at the earliest.

In the meantime, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be looking to goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to take Bishop’s place between the ice until he is able to return to the ice. As Bishop stated during his press conference, the team has full faith in Vasilevskiy.

"“He [Vasilevskiy] is a great goalie and he’s a fun guy to work with on and off the ice. Personally, I know he can go out there and do the job. He’s a young guy, but he’s got a lot of experience. He got to play in a Stanley Cup Final game last year and he played really well, and he’s played well all season,” Bishop said. “There’s been a couple games when the score has gotten a little higher than he’d probably like, but if you watch the games he’s played in, he played really well in those game and kind of kept the team in it even though the score was a little high. I know the guys in the room and I know myself, we have full confidence in him. He’s a great young goaltender and he’s got a bright future in this league."

At this particular point, anyone’s guess is as good as ours. The one thing we can all agree on is that we are incredibly grateful the injury to Ben Bishop was not nearly as bad as it looked on the ice at the time and there is a good chance Bishop will be able to rejoin his team on the ice at some point during the Eastern Conference Final.

Next: The Lightning Must Continue To Neutralize Sidney Crosby

The Tampa Bay Lightning will charge back into the Consol Energy Center on Monday night to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 2 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Final. If the Tampa Bay Lightning can continue to play the way they did on Friday night, whether or not Ben Bishop is able to take the ice with the team, the Lightning should find themselves in a good position as they prepare to bring the series home.