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Cooper replies to Subban’s ‘horseshoe’ remark about Bishop

Tampa Bay Lightning v Montreal Canadiens - Game One

Tampa Bay Lightning v Montreal Canadiens - Game One

Minas Panagiotakis

The Montreal Canadiens finally got to Ben Bishop last night -- chasing him with three goals on 14 shots -- and, afterward, P.K. Subban took a bit of a shot at the Bolts netminder.

“I think Bishop sort of was sitting on a horseshoe for a little bit there,” Subban said, per CP. “He’s played well, but he’s been lucky, as well.

“I think seeing him being pulled out of the net is a confidence booster for our team.”

Today, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper addressed the remarks.

“He may be right -- or Ben might be a good goalie,” Cooper said, per the Tampa Bay Times. “P.K. is a character, he’s a fun guy to have in the league for statements like that.”

Bishop had been brilliant through the first three games of this series -- all Lightning wins, not coincidentally. He stopped 100 of 104 shots (a .961 save percentage), highlighted by a Game 1 performance in which he made 43 saves in a double-OT win.

If there has been a knock on Bishop this postseason, though, it’s a penchant for letting in shaky goals. He essentially scored in his own net in Game 4 of the Detroit series and, in the opener of this series, flubbed a Max Pacioretty shot in the third period, which sent the contest to OT:

Last night, another questionable goal, this time off the stick of David Desharnais:

Despite those goals, Bishop’s overall numbers this postseason are off-the-charts good (7-4-0, .930 save percentage, 1.86 GAA) and he’s saved some of his best performances for the most crucial times, like his 31-save shutout in Game 7 of the Red Wings series.

Which is probably why Cooper had Bishop’s back after last night’s rough outing.

“It’s not his fault,” Cooper said of the Game 4 loss. “He’s played a lot of hockey. I thought maybe we’d get a spark out of [pulling him]. But it definitely wasn’t because of Bishop’s play.”