Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop has not been ruled out for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final Monday night, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Sunday.
Cooper declined to elaborate on Bishop’s status beyond saying he was still “day to day,” but did say he was encouraged by the progress he has made since he had to be carted off the ice on a stretcher in the first period against the Penguins on Friday night.
Former University of Maine standout Bishop, for his part, said his immediate thought was that he had broken his left leg, but X-rays and MRIs came back clean.
“Now it’s just a matter of getting back to where it feels good again,” Bishop said after the Lightning practiced Sunday. “But definitely just one of the scary things that have happened to me. It’s funny when something like that happens and your mind just starts racing and just thinking the worst, and luckily it’s not that bad.”
Bishop did not take part in the Lightning’s practice Sunday, but did test out his leg on the ice, wearing skates, beforehand.
“Afterwards it was pretty painful, and then as the night went on and then the next day, it’s slowly gotten better,” Bishop said. “It’s not too painful right now, but going out there and playing hockey is different than just walking around.”
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING: Vasilevskiy stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced after replacing Bishop and the team has total confidence in the 21-year-old Russian’s readiness to take over whenever he is needed. “If there’s one thing that Vasilevskiy will never be knocked for, it’s for preparation and work ethic,” Cooper told reporters. “That’s in his DNA.” Right wing Ryan Callahan avoided suspension after his five-minute major for a hit on Pittsburgh’s top defenseman Kris Letang in Game 1 and told reporters, “I’ve never been fined or suspended. So I take pride in that, to be an honest player.”
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. Sullivan told reporters of his two stars: “What we’ve tried to reiterate to (them) is that they have to just continue on trying to focus on playing the game with right way and taking what they give us and not trying to force plays that aren’t there in order to try to score goals.” Power forward Patric Hornqvist scored in Game 1 to take over the team lead with six goals in the postseason.
NOTES: Sullivan told reporters rookie G Matt Murray will start Monday and D Brian Dumoulin, who left Friday’s game in the third period after a hit by LW Ondrej Palat, would be available. … Tampa Bay D Victor Hedman logged a game-high 27:41 of ice time in Game 1 and has nine points in the last six contests. … Pittsburgh RW Phil Kessel had an assist in Game 1 and leads the team with 13 points in the playoffs — five in his last three contests.