Lightning stick with Ben Bishop in goal for Game 3 vs. Blackhawks
Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop got the start for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night.
Bishop participated in the morning skate, but there was no definitive word on his status until he was announced as the starter right before the game.
He left two different times during the third period of Tampa Bay's 4-3 victory over Chicago on Saturday night. The team has not provided a reason for his twin departures.
"I feel like Marshawn Lynch right now," a smiling Bishop said after offering clipped answers to several questions after the morning skate. The star running back for the Seattle Seahawks is known for repeating the same answer over and over when he is required to talk to the media.
Nikita Nesterov returned to Tampa Bay's lineup, giving the Lightning seven active defensemen. Rookie winger Jonathan Drouin was scratched.
The Blackhawks made a couple of changes to their lineup, inserting forward Bryan Bickell and rookie defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. Forward Kris Versteeg and defenseman David Rundblad were inactive.
Chicago and Tampa Bay split the first two games of the best-of-seven series.
Bickell played only 4-1/2 minutes in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals in Anaheim. He told reporters Monday that he was dealing with vertigo.
"I feel a lot better from where it started," Bickell said. "Before, I wasn't near 100 percent and I didn't want to risk the team in different situations. Now, I feel good and ready to go."
Van Riemsdyk is coming back from surgeries on his left knee and right wrist. The rookie has not played for the Blackhawks since Nov. 16, but has been practicing with the team in anticipation of his NHL playoff debut.
"I've definitely come a long, long way since I first got called up," said van Riemdsyk, who rejoined the team on May 22. "Just being back out there on the ice and just going through everything, it's really helped a lot, and yeah, I feel way better than I did when I first got here after the wrist injury."
Van Riemsdyk has played in just 18 NHL games. When it comes to making his playoff debut, he said there is plenty of experience in the locker room to help him with what to expect, and he also has been talking to his brother James, a forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
James van Riemsdyk also played in the Stanley Cup Final during his rookie season with Philadelphia in 2009-10, when the Flyers lost to the Blackhawks in the final.
"Just to enjoy it, to just remember it's just a hockey game," Trevor van Riemsdyk said of his brother's advice. "There's a lot of stuff going on, maybe a little more hectic and stuff outside of the rink and before you get on the ice, but when you get on the ice it's just another hockey game."
