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Bishop (lower-body injury) won’t rush back if he’s not ready

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Lightning goalie Ben Bishop was forced to leave Game 1 against the Penguins early after suffering a severe injury that saw him leave the ice on a stretcher.

Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper was optimistic Ben Bishop, out with a lower-body injury sustained in the first period of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, could return in this series.

The two teams are now into the back half of this series. While he’s back skating, it doesn’t seem like Bishop will rush back until he feels he’s ready. In the meantime, Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to make his fourth consecutive start for the Bolts in Game 5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have turned to Marc-Andre Fleury for this pivotal contest.

The series is tied two games apiece.

“It’s tough being in the position we’re in, kind of the last line of defense, you don’t want to go out and play when you’re not ready,” said Bishop, as per the Tampa Bay Times.

“If you were maybe a forward you’d be okay to go out and tough through it. But as the last line of defense, you don’t want to go out there and do that to your teammates. You’ve got to wait until you’re ready to go and feel like you can help the team win.”