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Tampa Bay has big questions in goal

Ben Bishop

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop (30) during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

AP

Anders Lindback and Ben Bishop make up Tampa Bay’s goalie tandem and while they make for the league’s tallest duo, their play last season didn’t make them feared.

Lindback, acquired from Nashville last summer, got the bulk of the starts before going down with an ankle injury and was perfectly average. While he went 10-10-1 he stopped pucks at a .902 clip with a 2.90 goals-against average.

Bishop was acquired later in the season in a deal with Ottawa that saw Cory Conacher go the other way. In his brief audition to show what he’s got, he went 3-4-1 and put up better save numbers (.914 SV%) than Lindback, but the goals kept coming (2.99 GAA).

It was a short season with small sample sizes all over the place for both goalies, but that has to worry folks in Tampa. Part of their struggles have to do with Tampa’s rather putrid defense as well as a mid-season coaching change with Guy Boucher swept out and Jon Cooper ushered in. Their inexperience at the NHL level didn’t help either.

Before last season the two goalies combined for 61 NHL games played with Lindback have just 38 of those he was brought in to be the man. Now they’ll battle it out to see who earns the starting nod. Buckle up Lightning fans, it could be a bumpy ride.

Follow @JoeYerdonPHT