Ben Bishop practiced Tuesday and Wednesday and is expected to play Thursday against the Sabres or Friday versus the Columbus Blue Jackets after a lower body injury sidelined the goalie for nine games.
Big Ben last played against the Detroit Red Wings on December 20. He pulled himself in the first period with a 4-1 lead after hurting his right leg making a kick save.
“I’ve had a couple of good practices, so, yeah, I’m ready to get back at it,” Bishop said. “It’s never fun having to sit out and watch, but you’re trying to get better, trying to focus on the challenge at hand, trying to get healthy again. We kind of worked back to where we are today. It’s kind of an exciting time to get back on the ice.”
“There will be a slight adjustment period, that first period you have to get used to the rush again, how they come at you. I’m not worried about the cardio side of it. I’m in good shape.”
The 19-19-4 Lightning have lost four straight games. The Bolts are four points behind the Ottawa Senators for third place in the Atlantic Division. A two-time Vezina Trophy Finalist, Bishop is expected to reignite Tampa Bay’s playoff chances.
Bishop is 9-10-2 with a 2.79 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage in 22 games this season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has had the net in every game that Bishop has missed. He has not played badly, but the porous Bolts defense has helped him to a 4-5-1 record with an .895 save percentage during that time. The Lightning have allowed 22 goals in the last four contests and six goals in three of their past four games.
Bishop’s puck-handling skills should help the grinding defense get out of the zone faster.
“It’s like having a third defenseman back there,” defenseman Jason Garrison said. “It can really be an option. So in terms of breaking out, it’s huge. He can stop pucks, stop rims. It makes (opponents) have to think about where they’re going to dump the puck. Sometimes that’s hard to do when you’re getting back pressure. It helps decrease their forecheck and helps us break the puck out.”
Is the return of Bishop the cure for all the Lightning’s illnesses? Probably not. As coach Rick Bowness stated, “He’s a runner up for the Vezina Trophy, he handles the puck like a defenseman back there. We can’t keep playing the way we are playing regardless of who is in net.”
(Feature Photo/Christine Gunn)
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