Bolts Unsure If Bishop Can Go, Vasilevskiy Could Get Nod

The Tampa Bay Lightning managed to even the series with the with the Chicago Blackhawks 1-1 in the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday, but not without leaving some viewers scratching their heads about the state of Bolts goaltender Ben Bishop.

Bishop left game 2 in the third period with an undisclosed ailment which gave rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy ice time for only the third time in the post season. The 20-year-old Russian stopped all fives shots he faced in 9:13 in net and was credited with the win after preserving Tampa’s 4-3 lead despite Bishop returning for a brief moment before exiting the game a second time shortly after.

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The carousel in net in the third period caused a lot of confusion and speculation from fans and even the Lightning players. “No one really knew what was going on. We were kind of listening to the announcements for who was in net for our team a couple of times.” said Bolts captain Steven Stamkos.

Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper has been coy about the nature of the issue with Bishop in game 2 and hasn’t said if he’ll be available for game 3 in Chicago on Monday night. Some believe Bishop may be fighting a pre-existing condition, dehydration or an unknown illness. Whatever it is, Cooper isn’t ready to say whether Bishop or Vasilevskiy will get the nod. Currently, the Bolts are +160 underdogs to win game 3 in Chicago.

“In honor of the 11-year anniversary of our organization’s first Stanley Cup, how would John Tortorella answer that question?” said Cooper, referring to the Bolt’s coach in 2004. Tortorella was notorious for dodging questions about injuries to his players. Cooper went one step further saying he didn’t know if Bishop would be available.

“I don’t know, that Bish could be available,” said Cooper in a Sunday interview. “You’ll have a better indication, I guess, tomorrow at the skate.”

The Blackhawks players have brushed off the Bolts attempt at causing confusion about who they’ll face in net in game 3. “I’ve been playing against Vasilevskiy in the international [competition], so I know him a little bit,” said Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen. “I think I’ve scored on him before, too. We’ll see who’s in there.”