Lightning’s Ben Bishop played through torn groin

Ben-Bishop

Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)

Even though he wouldn’t admit it during the series, Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop was clearly struggling with an injury during the Stanley Cup final. Now that the series is over, he came clean on what was ailing him: he had a torn groin.


Download it FREE now: iOS | Android | Windows

Bishop was forced to leave Game 2 at two different times and backup Andrei Vasilevskiy had to finish it for him, earning the win in relief. Bishop returned to the net for Game 3, which the Lightning won, but he was he was labouring the whole time. Vasilevskiy started Game 4, with Kristers Gudlevskis backing him up and made 17 saves in a 2-1 loss.

Bishop returned in Game 5 and didn’t look back, allowing just four goals in the last two games – both losses.

Bishop sustained the injury making a save on a Bard Richards shot in Game 2.

Through the playoffs, Bishop was an integral part of Tampa Bay’s success, finishing with a .921 save percentage and 2.18 goals-against average.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.