Ben Bishop Shuts Down Two Penalty Shots In Home Opener (Video)

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop showed his inner beast mode as he shut down two penalty shots in the Tampa Bay Lightning Home Opener.

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2015-16 Hockey Season is finally underway, and anyone who was able to witness Thursday night’s Lightning Home Opener against the Philadelphia Flyers witness one historic evening and an even better hockey game.

There were many highlights to Thursday night’s game, especially Jason Garrison scoring the first-ever 3-on-3 overtime goal in National Hockey League history, but one of the moments that really stuck out in our minds was the performance of one Ben Bishop and his ability to not only keep pucks out of the net, but to shut down penalty shots like it’s no tomorrow.

Penalty shots are not something that are easily given away in the NHL. Being completely honest, we can’t recall the last time the Tampa Bay Lightning were awarded a penalty shot for any of the many offenses their opponents have attempted to pull on them. What makes Thursday night’s game all that much more interesting is that Bishop not only had to face a penalty shot, but he had to face two of them.

The action all started in the first period of the game. Flyers captain Claude Giroux made his way into the Lightning zone with the puck well under control. As Giroux approached Bishop, he is seemingly hooked by one of the Lightning players. To the surprise of all 19,000+ Tampa Bay Lightning fans in attendance, Giroux is awarded a penalty shot.

Giroux made a good approach, coming in on Bishop’s glove side, but when push came to shove and it was time to sink the puck in the back of the net Giroux simply couldn’t pull the trigger.

The next time Bishop would face one of these shots would be one of the most inopportune moments for something like this to happen; right at the beginning of the brand new 3-on-3 overtime period.

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman would play the puck in front of the Flyers net, making a shot on Flyers goaltender Steve Mason. Mason would turn away the shot from Hedman, which would be subsequently sent back at Mason by Tyler Johnson. This deflection would send the puck back out into the zone.

Both teams skated for the puck, but Flyers center Brayden Schenn would be able to poke his stick at the puck as he made his way down to the ice and the puck would fly towards the Lightning zone and an awaiting Ben Bishop. Flyers center Scott Laughton would make it to the puck first and come sailing at Bishop.

Despite the fact that Tyler Johnson was sent flying into the boards on the play, the referees deemed the Lightning had interfered with Laughton’s legitimate scoring chance and he would be awarded the second penalty shot of the game.

We don’t know about you, but we think the look on Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper’s face combined with the confused gesture of the fan sitting directly behind Cooper say just about every thought we have on this play. Thankfully, the Lightning were prepared for just such an occasion.

Laughton made his way across the ice and approached on Bishop’s glove side; however, Laughton failed to take the puck top shelf and the puck was easily shut down by Bishop’s left blocker.

We would be lying to you if we told you we weren’t slightly nervous during the final penalty shot of the game. Lately, the Tampa Bay Lightning has struggled in one-on-one play and the mere thought of losing the first game of the season due to a penalty shot was something Lightning fans were not prepared to deal with. Thankfully, Ben Bishop was on his game and was able to keep both penalty shots out of the back of the net.

Tampa Bay Lightning fans were not the only ones impressed with Bishop’s play on Thursday night. Newly named Tampa Bay Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan spoke to Tampa Bay Times Staff Writer Joe Smith about Bishop’s performance in net, and needless to say he believed the game hinged on said performance.

“Without him, we don’t have two points tonight.” Callahan told Smith.

As we mentioned before, the Tampa Bay Lightning emerged victorious in the Home Opener thanks to the first-ever 3-on-3 overtime goal from Jason Garrison. While we still have some reservations about the new overtime regulations, there is no denying that it is exciting to watch.

On Saturday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Lightning head north to the First Niagara Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres. The puck drops at 1:00 p.m. so don’t sleep in too late or you’ll miss all the action.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Hope To Keep Momentum On Their Side Against Sabres

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