Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced Monday the team has lifted the suspension of forward Jonathan Drouin and that he would be reporting to the AHL's Syracuse Crunch on Tuesday.

"I certainly wouldn't exclude that possibility," Yzerman told reporters when asked if Drouin could eventually return to the Lightning roster.

As for the long-term relationship, Yzerman said he's "not going to rule anything out" when asked if things were salvageable between the player and team.

Drouin, 20, has appeared in 19 games for the Lightning this season, scoring two goals and adding six assists. He was the third overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft and played in 70 games during his rookie season last year, accumulating four goals and 28 assists.

But Drouin was suspended indefinitely without pay Jan. 20 after failing to show up to a game for Syracuse. His agent, Allan Walsh, released a statement after that suspension, per Gino Reda of TSN:

Statement from Allan Walsh Re: Jonathon Drouin's suspension pic.twitter.com/xD4B7h3Az1

— Gino Reda (@GinoRedaTSN) January 21, 2016

Drouin's return to action may end what has been a long and ugly saga between the player and the Lightning this season. Drouin initially requested a trade from the organization back in November and has struggled with injuries this season, prompting his demotion to Syracuse in the first place.

The Lightning, meanwhile, have fared well in his absence and are tied for second in the Eastern Conference with 82 points.

With the possibility of a trade no longer an option this season, Drouin now has the chance to work his way back up to the Lightning. What remains less clear is if the player has a long-term future with the organization after the events of this season.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Friday that they signed veteran defenseman Braydon Coburn to a three-year contract extension through the 2018-19 season.   

According to ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun, a no-trade clause will be included in Coburn's deal for the first two years of the extension. 

Coburn is in his first full season with the Lightning after being dealt by the Philadelphia Flyers in March of 2015. 

He appeared in only four regular-season games with Tampa Bay, as an injury sidelined him until the playoffs, but he came back at the right time. Coburn helped shore up the Lightning blue line during a run to the Stanley Cup Final, one they would lose to the Chicago Blackhawks. 

In 60 games this season, Coburn has become a solid second pairing defenseman alongside Andrej Sustr. At 6'5", 226 pounds, Coburn and the 6'7" Sustr create an imposing presence on the blue line.

Coburn is not a two-way defenseman, as he has one goal and eight assists this season, but his intensity on the ice is something his teammates covet. 

"He’s a workhorse out there," defenseman Victor Hedman told Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. "I love the way he prepares himself for battle every night. Great guy, great leader and one tough customer to play against."

He's also not afraid to go to bat for his teammates:

Most importantly, good things happen when he's on the ice, as he's ranked fourth on the team with a plus-eight rating. 

With a new deal in hand, Coburn can now focus on hockey with the Feb. 29 trade deadline looming. There wasn't much surrounding him in terms of possible transactions, but the fact that he was an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season could have sent the Lightning out on the market to gauge interest.

Entrenched in a battle for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, the Lightning are just five points above the ninth-place New Jersey Devils. Making sure Coburn knows that he is a valued member of the team could encourage him to keep up his solid play and continue contributing to the Lightning's playoff push. 

Stats courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com

Tampa Bay Lightning left winger Jonathan Drouin formally requested a trade from the team amid troubles finding playing time. He was not dealt before the Feb. 29 deadline, and after a stint in the AHL, has been recalled to the NHL roster.

Continue for updates.

---

Drouin Recalled From Syracuse

Thursday, April 7

The Lightning announced Drouin was recalled along with defenseman Matt Taormina, with defenseman Slater Koekkoek being sent to Syracuse as part of the roster moves.

The move is a surprise given that Frank Seravalli of TSN first reported on Feb. 29 that Drouin was "not expected to return to the Lightning," despite not being dealt before the trade deadline. 

Seravalli reported Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman's offer to Drouin to return was "believed to only include AHL Syracuse and not a return to the Lightning. No matter: even if the offer was extended to join the Lightning before their playoff run, Drouin is not believed to be interested."

---

Drouin's Suspension Lifted

Monday, March 7

Yzerman announced on Monday that the Lightning "have lifted the suspension of [Drouin] and he will report to the Syracuse Crunch for practice [Tuesday] morning."

---

Yzerman Comments on Drouin's Future with Lightning

Tuesday, March 1

"Jonathan is suspended," Yzerman told reporters after failing to deal Drouin before the trade deadline. "If he wants to come back and play, the door is open. That’s up to him.”

---

Drouin Linked to Ducks

Monday, Feb. 29

Jimmy Murphy of BruinsDaily.com reported the Anaheim Ducks are "deep in talks" with the Lightning about acquiring Drouin.

---

Majority of NHL Has Inquired on Drouin

Saturday, Feb. 27

Bob McKenzie of TSN reported "15 to 20 teams" have contacted Tampa Bay about a trade for Drouin, although McKenzie also noted he has "no strong sense" of where the winger will land. 

He broke down the significant list of teams that have inquired about Drouin:

Teams, at times, with maybe > than cursory int: ANA, ARI, BOS, CAR, CHI, COL, MIN, MTL, NSH, NJD, NYI, NYR, OTT, PHI, SJ, STL, TOR, VAN, WPG

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 27, 2016

McKenzie added the Lightning were expecting to get a piece who could help them immediately, as well as a prospect and potentially a draft pick.

---

Drouin Linked to Senators

Thursday, Feb. 11

"According to two TVA reporters, Ottawa Senators general manager [Bryan Murray] is now the front-runner to land [Drouin]," said Luke Fox of Sportsnet.

"TVA's Louis Jean reported the news Wednesday night, and colleague Renaud Lavoie asserted he had heard the same thing Thursday morning on The Jeff Blair Show," Fox also noted.

---

Montreal Reportedly Among Teams Interested in Drouin

Monday, Jan. 18

McKenzie the Canadiens are "one of handful of teams with serious interest" in Drouin but added "it's near impossible to handicap front-runner/timeline." McKenzie also noted Montreal's Rick Dudley was in Syracuse watching Drouin.

On Jan. 5, the New York Post's Larry Brooks reported the "[New York] Rangers are among a group of teams that have inquired about Tampa Bay’s disgruntled 20-year-old left wing [Drouin], multiple sources have told the Post, with one informant reporting the Blueshirts 'are in big-time on this.'"

---

Drouin Comments on Trade Rumors

Saturday, Jan. 16

"I don't really decide. It's up to them (Tampa Bay)," Drouin said when asked about the possibility of being traded, per Lindsay Kramer of Syracuse.com. "But we'll see what happens the next couple days."

When pressed about his response, Drouin said "Oh, I don't know. I'm just saying we'll see what's going on, and...if I go up or get traded. So, I'll see how it goes."

On Jan. 5, Drouin spoke to reporters, telling them he's "working hard to get back up" to the Lightning but would not comment on his relationship with the organization. The winger also said the issue is between his agent and the Lightning, and would not comment on the trade request.

---

Cooper Comments on Trade Request

Monday, Jan. 4

"It's tough as a coach when somebody wants out," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said, per Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, adding he would welcome Drouin back into the fold.

---

Lightning Acknowledge Trade Request

Sunday, Jan. 3

Yzerman spoke on Drouin's request, per Chris Johnston of Sportsnet:

We acknowledge, via communication from his agent, Jonathan Drouin's request to be traded. Moving forward, my sole intention is to act in the best interest of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey club. In the meantime, Jonathan has been assigned to our American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, and we expect him to report for practice with the rest of his teammates this Tuesday morning.

---

Former Top Pick Requests a Trade

Sunday, Jan. 3

Drouin's agent, Allan Walsh, confirmed the request came in November in a statement released to McKenzie:

A statement from Jonathan Drouin's agent Allan Walsh regarding his client's future in TB: pic.twitter.com/Vhwet1IpTW

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 3, 2016

The No. 3 overall pick in 2013, Drouin was sent down to the AHL on Jan. 2. Before the move, he had played in only one game since Dec. 10.

A lower-body injury kept him out of eight games, but even before then, his second NHL season was plagued with inconsistent ice time.

Overall, Drouin has scored just eight points (two goals, six assists) all season. After an up-and-down rookie campaign, it's clear there is something amiss with Drouin and the Lightning game plan. His playing time hasn't seen a significant increase over the last year, and his production is actually down on a per-minute basis.

McKenzie noted that tensions had been brewing:

It's no secret it's been rocky road between Drouin/TB for quite some time, but Walsh's public statement on trade request will magnify it.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 3, 2016

With Steven Stamkos also the subject of constant trade rumors before the deadline and set to hit free agency after the season, the Lightning could wind up losing two young players they once viewed as foundational pieces. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Friday they signed head coach Jon Cooper to a multiyear extension. 

Figures of the deal have not been released yet.  

Cooper, who was in the final year of his contract with the team, is coming off of a 2014-15 season in which he led the Lightning to their second-ever Eastern Conference championship.

While it fell short in the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks, it was the first time in franchise history the team won 50 games in a single season.

Now, four years into his first head coaching gig at the NHL level, Cooper is 112-70-23 with the Lightning, and he was a 2014 finalist for the Jack Adams Award given to the league's best head coach. 

Guiding a team packed with talent, including Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson, Cooper knows that he's in a good situation in Tampa, as he told the media Friday, per the Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith:

Cooper said other day, on his success as coach. "I'm just a tiny little piece of this whole thing." #tblightning

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) December 4, 2015

The Lightning have struggled this season, though, starting the campaign with a 12-11-3 record, and they are currently in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. 

But a vote of confidence like this from general manager and hockey legend Steve Yzerman solidifies the fact that Cooper will be in Tampa Bay's future for a while. 

Stats courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com.

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat suffered a lower-body injury in Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild and will be out for at least three weeks.

Palat suffered the injury when Wild right winger Nino Niederreiter landed on his leg.

Continue for updates.

---

Palat Ruled Out for 3-5 Weeks

Monday, Nov. 9

The Lightning confirmed Palat's absence but did not specify the injury, continuing to call it a lower-body injury.

---

Palat's Absence Further Weakens Struggling Lightning Offense

Palat, the team’s alternate captain, has two goals and five assists in 16 games this season. The defending Eastern Conference champion Lightning are 7-7-2 and rank 22nd in the league with 2.38 goals per game, well off their 3.16 mark from a year ago.

The team's well-chronicled scoring slump could continue if Palat’s injury turns out to be as serious as it looked. And that’s not good news for a team that entered the season hoping to rebound from last year’s Stanley Cup Final loss.

The 2014-15 Tampa Bay Lightning know what it's like to lose a Game 5 at home and go into a Game 6 on the road down 3-2 with a chance to be eliminated.

It happened in late April, in their first series this postseason. The Lightning had lost 4-0 to the Detroit Red Wings at Amalie Arena. The Bolts did not look sharp in that Game 5 and then had to go to Detroit to stave off elimination.

But the Bolts showed their resiliency in Game 6, as they beat the Red Wings 5-2. When the series went back to Tampa for Game 7, goalie Ben Bishop shut out the Red Wings and the Bolts won 2-0 to wrap up the series.

The Lightning have not done things the easy way in their run to hoist Lord Stanley. After beating the Red Wings, they needed six games to take care of the Montreal Canadiens and a full seven games to beat the New York Rangers, with Game 7 at the legendary Madison Square Garden, where the Rangers had never lost a Game 7.

But the Rangers did lose 2-0 to Bishop and the Bolts on May 29. It's now a couple of weeks later, and the Lightning have another enormous obstacle to overcome.

Now they are down 3-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks, a team that has won two Stanley Cups in five years. The Bolts have to play Game 6 on Monday night in Chicago, where the Hawks have not hoisted Lord Stanley in front of their fans since 1938.

The Lightning know that they themselves conquered a similar barrier earlier this postseason when they played Detroit. But that was the first series of the Stanley Cup playoffs, not the Stanley Cup Final.

The Bolts also know that their franchise faced a comparable situation in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning had lost Game 5 in Tampa to the Calgary Flames and were down 3-2.

Game 6 was at the boisterous Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary. In one of the best postseason games I have ever seen, the Bolts hung tough and beat the Flames in a dramatic 3-2 double-overtime victory, as Marty St. Louis scored the game-winning goal 33 seconds into the second overtime.

That victory meant that the Lightning would get a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup if they could beat the Flames in Game 7 at the St. Pete Times Forum. I was one of the fortunate 22,717 at the game.

Before the game, as I often do, I called 620 WDAE's Steve Duemig to talk about Game 7 as I was driving to the epic event. Duemig and I discussed the keys to the game, and that's when I had my Nostradamus moment. For some reason, I said Ruslan Fedotenko would have a big night.

Fedotenko did have a big night, as he scored the Bolts' only two goals in a 2-1 victory over the Flames. Moments after the victory, through the tumultuous noise, we saw veteran Dave Andreychuk receive the Stanley Cup from commissioner Gary Bettman.

It was Andreychuk's first Stanley Cup after 22 years in the NHL. It was great to see Lord Stanley get passed from teammate to teammate as they joyously skated around the ice. The crowd erupted when head coach John Tortorella lifted the Cup.

That Lightning team had a great chemistry with players like Andreychuk, St. Louis, Fedotenko, Vinny Lecavalier, current Hawk Brad Richards, Dan Boyle, Fredrik Modin, goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, Darryl Sydor, Tim Taylor, Pavel Kubina, Chris Dingman, Brad Lukowich and Cory Stillman.

Going into the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, the Bolts had four players who had hoisted the Cup before. They were Taylor (Detroit Red Wings in 1997), Sydor (Dallas Stars in 1999), Lukowich (Dallas Stars in 1999) and Dingman (Colorado Avalanche in 2001).

Richards ended up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, with 26 points and seven game-winners. It was well-deserved, but Khabibulin was incredible that postseason as well, with 16 wins, five shutouts and a 1.71 goals-allowed average.

Both Andreychuk and Dingman are close to this year's Bolts to add advice if needed, as they help with the team's television broadcasts. In addition, Andreychuk is the Lightning's Vice President of Corporate and Community Affairs.

The only current Bolt who has won a Stanley Cup is center Valtteri Filppula, who won one with the Red Wings in 2008.

That being said, the Bolts have a number of players who won the Calder Cup under Jon Cooper with the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL in 2012. They are Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn and defenseman Mark Barberio.

Cooper has won at every level he has coached. Besides Norfolk in the AHL, Cooper also won league titles with the St. Louis Bandits (NAHL) and the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL). He knows it will be a very tough road to win the Stanley Cup, even though his team is only two wins away from doing just that.

First, the Bolts are going against a very good team in the Blackhawks, who have won the Cup a couple of times. Also, the Bolts are very banged up.

Goalie Ben Bishop has being playing with an undisclosed injury almost the entire Stanley Cup Final, in which he missed one game and part of another.

The vaunted "Triplets" line has also been affected by injuries. Johnson has what looks to be an upper-body injury and has not been able to take faceoffs like he normally does. That's a big injury, as Johnson leads the NHL in goals (13) and points (23) this postseason.

Another member of the Triplets, Nikita Kucherov, is second in scoring in the postseason with 22 points, and he too is injured. Kucherov missed most of Game 5 after he slammed into the Chicago goal in the first period after stealing the puck from goalie Corey Crawford.

The status of Kucherov for Game 6 is yet to be determined, but in a press conference, Cooper said he's in "considerably better shape."

The Bolts are going to have to dig deep and find a way to beat the Hawks at the Madhouse, just like they did in Game 3. That was only the second loss for Chicago at home this postseason.

Forwards like Johnson, Kucherov (if available), Palat, Killorn, Steven Stamkos, Ryan Callahan, Brian Boyle, Cedric Paquette and J.T. Brown have to somehow get some biscuits in the basket. Defensemen like Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn have to continue to play stellar in the defensive zone and also help out the offense when they can.

Whoever is in goal, whether Bishop or rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy, has to keep the goals by the Hawks down to a bare minimum or even post a shutout.

Bottom line: Do what it takes to get a win in Game 6. If you do, Game 7 awaits. At home.

This Stanley Cup Final has been fantastic. The Lightning and Blackhawks are almost mirror images of one another. The series has had five one-goal games in a row. The Hawks have 11 goals, while the Bolts have 10. Both teams have taken 136 shots.

With all the key injuries the Lightning have right now, it will take a valiant effort to win Game 6 on the road with elimination at stake versus the Blackhawks. But it can be done. The Bolts have proven that before. Both in this postseason and in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final with another Lightning team.

Yes, it's back to the future for the Bolts with Lord Stanley at stake.

Nikita Kucherov suffered an injury when he collided with a referee in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks. His status for Game 6 was in doubt all the way up until right before the first puck was dropped. 

Alongside Jonathan Drouin, Kucherov was indeed in the starting lineup, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

He was previously listed as "probable" to play, per ESPN's Pierre LeBrun. Kucherov told Katie Strang of ESPN that he would go through warm-ups and talk to Cooper before making a decision on his status.

Below, you can see the sequence of events directly before his departure:

As part of Tampa Bay's "Triplets" line, Kucherov has had a major impact on his team during the postseason. The timing couldn't be much worse for him to go down with an injury.

The chances the Lightning beat the Blackhawks inside the United Center in a Stanley Cup-clinching game have certainly risen with Kucherov back in the lineup. 

So far in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks have shown that they are almost mirror images of each other. The difference between winning and losing has been razor-thin.

Both teams have an abundance of talent at the forward position and have some very talented defensemen. The goaltending has been solid as well. That dynamic has made all the games close.

Through the first four games of the series, each contest has been decided by one goal—the first time that has happened since the 1968 Stanley Cup Final.

Each team has nine goals through four games.

Each team has won two games, which makes it a best-of-three series from here on out, starting tonight in Game 5 at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

One factor has tilted in a big way in favor of the Blackhawks: winning faceoffs.

In Game 1, the Bolts had the edge in that category by winning 30 faceoffs to 27 by the Hawks. But since then, the Hawks have dominated.

In Game 2, the Hawks had a 35-19 advantage. In Game 3, Chicago won 39 faceoffs, compared to just 28 by Tampa Bay. In Game 4, the Hawks almost doubled the Bolts by having a 38-20 edge.

Not only that, but in their 2-1 victory on Wednesday night, both goals scored by the Hawks came right after winning a key faceoff battle.

The game-winning goal by Brandon Saad came after the Hawks won a faceoff in defensive zone of the Lightning. After the faceoff win, as Saad navigated forward toward the net, Brad Richards of the Hawks blocked the stick of defenseman Anton Stralman of the Bolts, which allowed Saad access to the net, where he put in his own rebound.

Faceoffs aren't always won due to who wins the initial battle among the two players, who are usually centers. Sometimes it comes down to getting help from other forwards or defensemen in the faceoff zone.

In the regular season, the Lightning won basically 50 percent of their faceoffs. In this series, the Bolts would be happy with that number. Unfortunately, the Bolts have won only 41 percent of the time so far in the Stanley Cup Final.

Looking back on the regular season, center Valtteri Filppula won 52.4 percent of the faceoffs he was involved in. The next best player on the Lightning was center Brian Boyle, who won 50.8 percent of his faceoffs.

Both Steven Stamkos (49.7) and Tyler Johnson (48.7) were slightly under 50 percent in faceoffs in the regular season.

Johnson took 1,103 faceoffs in the regular season. But as of late, he has not taken part in many at all. In fact, in the last three games of the Stanley Cup Final, Johnson has only taken part in just one.

Why? Most likely due to an upper-body injury. The production of Johnson in this series has not been as pronounced as it's been throughout the rest of the playoffs, where he leads all players with 23 points and 13 goals.

But in the Stanley Cup Final through four games, Johnson has just one goal and one assist.

With Johnson not taking faceoffs, the Bolts have used winger Ondrej Palat instead, and the results have not been good. In fact, Palat lost 10 of 14 faceoffs in Game 4. That's a 29 percent success rate.

With a series this close and with each game coming down to a one-goal differential, the Bolts need to start winning more faceoffs. At least get it close to 50 percent.

In the NHL, a player from the visiting team is required to place his stick on the ice for the faceoff first. That should give the advantage to the player from the home team. But that wasn't the case in Game 2 in Tampa, where the Hawks had a 35-19 advantage in faceoff wins.

Bottom line: With just three games remaining to decide who will win the 2015 Stanley Cup, the Lightning need to get more productive in winning faceoffs.

Like in Game 4, the success in that area could decide the fate of the winner or the loser...and the team that gets to hoist Lord Stanley.

When the Tampa Bay Lightning headed to Chicago to face the Blackhawks after splitting the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final in Tampa, the No. 1 goal was to gain at least a split at the United Center.

Tampa Bay accomplished that goal at the Madhouse in Game 3, as the Bolts beat the Hawks 3-2 on Monday night. The gutsy performance of goalie Ben Bishop in that game was simply amazing. It was obvious to everyone Bishop was hurting.

But Big Ben stood tall. The team as a whole followed suit. The Bolts came out quick in the first five minutes of the game, only to be dominated in the last 15 minutes in the first period. Except for a shift or two, the Lightning outplayed the Blackhawks the rest of the game.

Victor Hedman, Ryan Callahan and Cedric Paquette stood out. As did the "Triplets," as Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov assisted Ondrej Palat on the game-tying goal in the third period. Paquette scored the game-winner with assists by Callahan and Hedman with 3:11 left in the game.

That victory set up Game 4 as a huge game. With a win, the Bolts could go back to Tampa with a 3-1 series lead on the Hawks, with Game 5 scheduled for Saturday night at Amalie Arena.

But just like Game 3, there was speculation on the status of Bishop before Game 4. The Bolts' starting netminder was at the morning skate, just like he was prior to Game 3.

It was assumed that Bishop would be in net. But you know what they say when you assume.

Just minutes before the game, it was announced that Bishop not only wouldn't play, but he wouldn't even dress.

That meant rookie goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy would make his first start in the Stanley Cup Final. The Russian rookie had gotten his feet wet in Game 2 in Tampa, as he had to come in twice to relieve an ailing Bishop twice in the third period.

In fact, Vasilevskiy got the win, as the Bolts scored the game-winning goal with him in net. Not only that, the rookie spent 9:13 in the Tampa Bat crease, including the latter part of the third period.

Game 4 started out well for the Bolts, as they had nine shots on goal in the first period, as opposed to only two by the Blackhawks. But the contest remained scoreless after one period of play.

Both teams scored a goal in the second period. The Hawks struck first with a goal by Jonathan Toews. But a little over five minutes later, Alex Killorn tied the score after getting a nice pass from Valtteri Filppula. Steven Stamkos also assisted on the score.

The Hawks outshot the Lightning 12-8 in the second period. Chicago took charge in the last five minutes or so of the middle frame with multiple shots, but Vasilevskiy kept the puck out of the net to keep the score tied.

The Hawks took the lead 6:22 into the third period on a nice goal by Brandon Saad after Chicago won a faceoff in the Tampa Bay zone.

The 2-1 score stood, even with a number of shot attempts by the Lightning near the end of the game after they had pulled Vasilevskiy to gain a man advantage in the offensive zone.

All told, the Lightning were able to get off four shots in the last two minutes of the contest and came very close to tying the game. Stamkos fired a shot with 53 seconds left that glanced off the stick of Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook and just went wide.

Stamkos thought he was about to put the biscuit in the basket.

"I thought it was going in," Stamkos said of his shot, per Shawn Roarke of NHL.com. "We had some other great looks that were going to go in, too. A couple of times guys almost had their hands in the air. That's the way it goes. You can't ask for a more eventful minute-and-a-half in a six-on-five situation. That's exactly what we want; [the puck] just didn't go in. It's a little frustrating when you have that many chances, but nothing you can do about it now."

In the end, the Hawks earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory. The Bolts played well and outshot the Hawks by a 25-19 margin, but it wasn't enough.

The Lightning are still feeling pretty good about themselves as they had back to Tampa in what is now a best-of-three series.

"You don't want to come back in the dressing room and say, 'Man, we let this one slip.' We don't have that feeling now," said Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman. "We've played some good hockey. Sometimes you play well and you don't get the results you want. That's OK. That's hockey. It's about the performance. I'm comfortable with the way we played, and we just have to keep going."

Even with the nice performance of Vasilevskiy in the net, everyone wants to know if Bishop will be ready to go again on Saturday night in Game 5.

Tampa head coach Jon Cooper talked about that situation.

"[Bishop] is going to play again in this series, there's no question," Cooper said, per Roarke. "I just don't know which game."

We will find out soon enough if it will be Saturday night for Bishop, but one player was really impressed with the performance of Vasilevskiy.

"I thought [Vasilevskiy] was our best player," Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison said. "He kept us in it. He made some big saves. I'm not sure of [Bishop's] status and I don't know who will be in net in Game 5, but we just have to play the same way."

When it comes to talking about goalies in the NHL, you don't hear Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning mentioned in the same conversation with the likes of Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens or Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers.

Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy in 2012, while Price is expected to win that same award as well the Hart Memorial Trophy for the 2014-15 season.

The 6'7" Bishop has been very solid in the past two seasons with the Lightning as their full-time starter in front of the net.

Last season, Bishop won 37 games and posted a 2.23 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. That performance allowed Bishop to become a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which eventually went to Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins.

Also, Bishop suffered a wrist injury late in the season which forced the former Maine Black Bear out of the playoffs.

The Bolts were swept in four games last postseason with Bishop out of the lineup against the Canadiens.

In 2014-15, Bishop upped his win total to 40 games while posting a 2.32 GAA and .916 save percentage. Even though his numbers were very comparable to what he did the year before, he was not named as a Vezina Trophy finalist.

Unlike last season, Bishop would get his chance to play in front of the goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs. So far this postseason, even with a couple of glitches, Bishop has not disappointed.

It should also be mentioned that Bishop and the Lightning have beaten Price and the Canadiens as well as Lundqvist and the Rangers along the way to the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Bishop currently leads all goalies in the playoffs with 13 wins and three shutouts. In addition, Bishop has a 2.19 GAA and .919 save percentage.

Bishop came up big in the Eastern Conference Final against the Rangers when he posted shutouts in Games 5 and 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York. However, his gutsy performance in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final may have been his best performance yet.

Bishop and the Bolts lost Game 1 to the Blackhawks 2-1 after Chicago scored two goals in less than two minutes with about six-and-a-half minutes to go in the game.

Although that was a very difficult loss, the Bolts bounced back and won Game 2 by a 4-3 scoreline. The game had a very weird ending, though, as Bishop was forced to leave the net twice in the third period for undisclosed reasons.

The Lightning remained mum on the subject leading into Game 3, but Bishop was in front of the goal when the game started.

The Bolts got off to a quick start and had a 1-0 lead fairly early in the first period thanks to a howitzer by Ryan Callahan after he received a very long pass by defenseman Victor Hedman.

But the Blackhawks soon took control of the period after that, and Bishop was peppered with shots over the rest of the frame. All told, the Hawks had 19 shots in the period and finally scored on a power-play goal by former Bolt Brad Richards.

Bishop and the Lightning were fortunate that the score was only 1-1, as the Hawks missed two open nets while Bishop was scrambling to get back into position. No. 30 appeared to be favoring a lower-body injury as he took the barrage of shots by the Blackhawks.

The second period was played in fast and furious fashion at times, but the 1-1 score stood. Big Ben took his lumps, though.

Bishop was hit in the head by the hand of Brandon Saad as he charged the Lightning net. That led to a goalie interference call, and the Bolts missed a chance to score when they had a five-on-three man advantage.

The third period was very interesting.

The Hawks took the lead early with a goal by Saad. Just 13 seconds later, the Lightning tied the score 2-2 thanks to the "Triplets" coming up with a big play again. Ondrej Palat punched in a goal from close range, with assists coming from linemates Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov.

The score remained 2-2 until late in the game, when Hedman took a pass from Callahan and effortlessly glided into the Blackhawks' zone. The blueliner delivered a perfect pass in the slot to Cedric Paquette, who found the back of the net for a 3-2 Lightning lead.

The score stood up and the Bolts now have a 2-1 advantage in the Final.

Bishop stopped 36 shots and posted a .947 save percentage when it was all said and done—and he accomplished this when it was pretty obvious to all who watched the game that he was certainly not 100 percent.

Probably closer to 80 percent, based on the way he struggled to move at times.

Bishop had help in the victory, however. Hedman was probably the best player on the ice in the game and was strong again defensively—Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews did not have a point—in addition to his two assists.

The third line of the Lightning also came up big, as Callahan had a goal and an assist, while Paquette had the game-winning goal. J.T. Brown played tenacious defense and also added an assist.

But the story leading up to the game was all about Bishop's availability to play in Game 3. He not only played, but he played extremely well.

Bishop is now just two wins away from doing something that neither Price nor Lundqvist have ever done.

Hoist the Stanley Cup.