Injured Ben Bishop Delivers Heroic Performance to Lift Lightning in Game 3

CHICAGO — There’s no denying there’s something physically wrong with Ben Bishop—unless you’re an employee of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The goaltender spent most of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final moving laterally like an 83-year-old man doing the Electric Slide two weeks after hip replacement surgery. Bishop, nursing perhaps a groin injury, rarely ventured from his crease to play the puck and consistently lifted himself off the ice after dropping to his knees as if he had a bear trap on his leg.

He barely had a leg to stand on Monday night at United Center, but Bishop’s back was just fine, as he carried the Lightning to a 3-2 victory against the Blackhawks and a subsequent 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with one of the more compelling performances in Stanley Cup Final history.

Bishop made 36 saves, including 18 while under siege in the first period, in obvious distress. If the lower-body injury that dare not be discussed wasn’t enough, Bishop had to contend with the 6'1" Brandon Saad delivering a forearm to his head during the second period that left Bishop prone on the ice for about 30 seconds. 

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

No one in the Lightning locker room would take the bait on a question regarding Bishop’s heroics in the context of playing through injury, even if coach Jon Cooper said he wasn’t sure if he would play until the team arrived at the rink two hours before the game.

The Lightning have refused to accept their reality throughout the postseason, whether it was rallying from down, 3-2, in the first round or winning a Game 7 on the road in the conference final, so why should Bishop and his teammates stray from that mindset by admitting the existence of a potentially serious injury?

“He’s answered the bell every time there’s been a challenge put his way,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “Whether he allows a goal or two or gets a shutout, he’s been the backbone to our success all season long. We need that in the playoffs. You can’t go far and get to the Final without your goaltender being your best player. He was that tonight.

“Just the stage he was on with all the uncertainty going on, for him to respond that way, especially in the first…he was there for us.”

Does he look hurt to you, Steven?

“I know you guys are going to keep speculating. I don’t know if you’re going to get an answer until the Final is over, but he didn’t look hurt out there to me tonight.”

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Stamkos is correct about one thing—we probably won’t know the extent of Bishop’s injury until this series is concluded, since hockey’s bravado and culture won’t allow anyone to disclose an injury during the postseason, be it for the purposes of selflessness or protection from intentionally injurious hits. 

It’s just not the way of hockey players (and athletes in other sports, too, at times) to use an injury as an excuse for poor play or a reason to prop themselves up.

That’s what we’re here for, so let’s prop up Bishop.

Bishop hurt himself in Game 2 on Saturday, and Cooper sounded skeptical Sunday about his goaltender's chances of playing in Game 3. Bishop looked mobile enough during the team's morning skate Monday but wasn't deemed healthy enough until Cooper got the answer he wanted hours before Game 3.

“We talked long and hard if he could play tonight," Cooper said. "There wasn't a doubt in his eyes. You can read when guys are sitting there saying, Coach, I'll go for you. Or you can say, give me the net. 

“That kid said, give me the net. I knew we were going to be OK.”

Bishop’s best save was on Antoine Vermette, who jumped on a turnover for a breakaway chance during the second period. Vermette tried to open Bishop’s legs, perhaps a mistake if Bishop has a groin injury that’s preventing him from pushing side-to-side and extending a leg, but the puck was easily turned aside. 

It wasn’t all moments of glory for Bishop. During the first period, Marian Hossa had a gimpy Bishop down and about 15 feet from the net but slid the puck past an open net. Teuvo Teravainen had a yawning net of his own in the first period, but he couldn’t find the twine he found during the first two games of this series.

"He looks like he's got some issues," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

"Man overcomes issues" is hardly the foundation for a movie of the week or a novel, but that's about all you're going to get with so much at stake and so little time in the season.

Sure, most of Bishop’s saves lacked artistry and resembled your grandfather carefully bending over to scoop the newspaper off his front porch in the morning, but he was the biggest reason the Lightning left Game 3 two wins closer to a Stanley Cup, issues and all. 

“As the game went on, I felt better, more comfortable,” Bishop said. “It's going to take a lot not to play in a Stanley Cup Final game.” 

Limping to the finish has never looked so good.

All statistics via NHL.com and all quotes obtained firsthand.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @DaveLozo.