Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper wouldn’t say why goaltender Ben Bishop was pulled twice in Game 2 or name his starter for Monday when asked following the contest Saturday night. Given that we’re in the Stanley Cup Final, it wasn’t surprising when he dodged another question about Bishop’s status during Sunday’s media availability.
“Well, in honor of the 11-year anniversary of our organization’s first Stanley Cup, how would John Tortorella answer that question?” Cooper joked.
He did go on to give some useful tidbits though, starting with the fact that Cooper isn’t sure who will play. He suggested that we might gain more insight from Monday’s practice, but given it will be optional and Bishop doesn’t always take part in them, the goaltender’s absence during the skate wouldn’t necessarily mean anything.
He also acknowledged that it would be a blow to the team if Bishop isn’t available tomorrow while still expressing his full support of Andrei Vasilevskiy.
“I look at our tandem, I’d like to stack them up against any tandem in the league because I think we’ve got, you know, 1 and 1A,” the bench boss said.
Vasilevskiy held his own in Game 2 to help Tampa Bay earn a 4-3 victory, but his lack of experience has to be a concern. He’s 20 years old and has played in 19 NHL contests, including the regular season.