Tampa's Garrison has high praise for Hedman in latest journal entry
Tampa Bay's Jason Garrison and Chicago's Andrew Desjardins are both blogging for NHL.com during the Stanley Cup Final, and Garrison updated his blog after Game 3 with his reflections on Tampa's 3-2 win.
He shared his reaction to Tampa's mini goaltending controversy, as there was a lot of talk before the game about whether Tampa goalie Ben Bishop would be able to make the start. Bishop left Game 2 early for undisclosed reasons, but Garrison said he was never worried about the goalie's status for Game 3.
"I know there was some commotion outside of our dressing room about whether Bishop would even start the game, but to be honest I wasn't really focused on that," Garrison wrote. "Not that I wasn't concerned; I was just focused on my game, what I had to do, and I figured that would just take care of itself. Whatever happens, you just go."
Garrison also took a moment to highlight the play of defenseman Victor Hedman, who impressed on the first goal of Game 3 with a perfect stretch pass to find Ryan Callahan for the tally. Hedman engineered another great pass on Cedric Paquette's game-winning goal in the third period. The 24-year-old blue-liner now has 13 assists this postseason, the third-most of any NHL player in this year's playoffs.
"Obviously [Hedman] sees the ice extremely well, but he can stay out there and make those plays at the end of his shift too," Garrison wrote. "He's an effortless skater. I feel like when I'm skating I touch cement every time I stride; he skates and it's like he's floating above the ice."
Garrison called the win another "good test" for the team and noted that he is impressed with the way the Lightning seem to pass every test they face. Now Tampa simply has to keep that trend alive, and soon enough Garrison could be writing in his journal about a parade.
(h/t NHL)
Photo credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
