Bishop

Who should the Bolts keep? Stamkos or Bishop?

June 29, 2016 general

Friday, 6 a.m. Steven Stamkos or Ben Bishop? Pick one. Would you rather have the guy who scores more goals than any other Lightning player, or the guy who stops more shots than anyone else? The guy who barely got into this year’s playoffs, or the guy who left them prematurely? Stamkos or Bishop? Who […]

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Lightning loses playoff opener to the Islanders

April 28, 2016 general

Thursday, 6 a.m. “It’s just one game.” “It’s a seven game series for a reason.” “We were in the same shape last year.” And so it went. All around the locker room of the Tampa Bay Lightning were the soft, disappointed sounds of the familiar cliches of a team that had finished second in a […]

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Killer is the death of the Red Wings’ season

April 22, 2016 general

Thursday, 6 a.m. He was watching the pregame show, because hours before he wins a game, what else is a guy supposed to do. He saw the images, and he listened to the rhetoric. Yeah, the announcers were saying: if you are going to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, you have to stop Nikita Kucherov […]

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As ever, the Lightning’s best hope is goalie Bishop

April 21, 2016 general

Thursday, 6 a.m. On the Tampa Bay Lightning, hope wears a mask. Don’t most superheroes? He is a large man, and when he bends, he fills the net. That’s the point. He does not allow light. He does not allow air. He does not allow possibilities. He is a man of intense focus. That’s another […]

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Tampa Bay lost a game, but only a game

April 18, 2016 general

Monday, 6 a.m. And now, we may assume, the sky is falling. The Tampa Bay Lightning has lost, and they looked rather feeble in doing it. And so now there will be those who will shake their heads, and tell you that they knew it all the time. They will say this team is held […]

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Bishop at his best as Bolts beat Leafs

March 29, 2016 general

Tuesday, 6 a.m. This is why you consider him. This is why he is in the running. Yes, Ben Bishop has lost 19 games this year, too often because of his scorers’ non-support. This, however, is why you can mention Bishop’s name with the Vezina Trophy without blushing. Did you see him Monday night? He […]

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Condra finally gets the night he’s been awaiting

March 23, 2016 general

Wednesday, 6 a.m. Who was that guy? You can pity the poor Detroit Red Wings. Steven Stamkos, they were prepared for. And Nikita Kucherov, they knew all about. And Tyler Johnson, and Ondrej Palat, maybe even Vlad Namestnikov. They had heard about Alex Killorn. But this guy? The guy who had sat out 28 times […]

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For the Lightning, the playoffs must start now

February 22, 2016 general

Monday, 6 a.m. Cue the music. Start growing the beards. Turn on the bright lights. The NHL playoffs have begun. Oh, not officially, of course. There is still a little more weeding out to do. There is still momentum to be gained. But, if a team wants to play then, it had better play now. […]

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Bishop can’t pull another out for Lightning

February 15, 2016 general

Tuesday, 6 a.m. This is what it’s like to be Ben Bishop. You stand around, trying to stay loose, because the Lightning defense doesn’t give up a lot of shots. But then, all of the sudden, you are standing in traffic, and it is bearing down on you. The other team is on a breakaway, […]

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Hot Lightning beats first-place Panthers

January 17, 2016 general

Sunday, 8:59 p.m. There has been some luck involved. A puck goes off a skate into the goal. A team wins a three-on-three overtime. But slowly, the victories are beginning to add up for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning won its fifth straight game, its longest streak of the season, by beating the first-place […]

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