Tampa Bay Lightning G Ben Bishop Leaves Game With Lower-Body Injury
By Will Clewis
During the first period against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop went down with a lower-body injury and did not return to the game.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have already dealt with their fair share of injuries this season, and during the first period against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, the team received some unwanted news surrounding their top netminder.
Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop left the game with a lower-body injury after he extended his right leg to make a save on defenseman Nick Jensen‘s shot from the half-boards.
Bishop sprawled out in front of the net in pain and had to be helped off the ice. Obviously, that’s not a good sign for him or the team, as Tampa Bay looks to create some traction in their upcoming home games.
Per Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Bishop and Tampa Bay Lightning backup goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy, embraced each other near the locker room and didn’t exchange any words, which shows just how close these two are.
As you can see, the 30-year-old netminder is in quite discomfort after making that save, and the injury is unknown at the moment, so there’s no telling when he will return. Bishop could be ready as soon as Thursday for the game against the St. Louis Blues or the timeline for this injury could be a bit longer.
Tampa Bay Lightning
After Bishop was helped off the ice, Vasilevskiy replaced him in net and played well in relief. He made 22 saves on 23 shots and only surrendered one goal on the night, which came 11 seconds before the game ended. It may have been unlucky, but at least he earned the win.
Fortunately, the Lightning has one of the NHL’s best goaltending duos, and when one goes down, Tampa Bay fans know that there is another solid option to put in net. Thus far, Bishop has had a bit of an off year, but Vasilevskiy, on the other hand, is putting up some of his best numbers in his short NHL career.
This season, the 22-year-old Russia native has a 7-4-1 record, a .923 Save Percentage and a 2.41 Goals Against Average in 14 games played. At one point during the season, Vasilevskiy led the league in a couple of categories and was impressive early on. Against the Red Wings last night, he put on a solid performance and got the job done.
And just in case he couldn’t finish the game, Lightning goaltending coach Frantz Jean and Public Relations director Brian Breseman were both chosen as options for the emergency third netminder. But, they weren’t needed and Vasilevskiy helped shut the door against the Red Wings.
Next: Lightning Defeat Detroit Red Wings In Impressive Fashion
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop, who has a history with sustaining lower-body injuries, especially during the playoffs, went down during the first period against Detroit on Tuesday and did not return. Though it’s uncertain what his status is at the moment, there will be more updates on his injury as he further evaluated. Stay tuned to Bolts By The Bay for updates.