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Bishop confident Game 1 was just blip (with video)

 
The puck bounces in the net behind Lightning goalie Ben Bishop as Henrik Zetterberg cheers the Red Wings taking a 1-0 lead on their first shot in Game 1.
The puck bounces in the net behind Lightning goalie Ben Bishop as Henrik Zetterberg cheers the Red Wings taking a 1-0 lead on their first shot in Game 1.
Published April 18, 2015

BRANDON — This certainly wasn't how Ben Bishop envisioned his Stanley Cup playoffs debut shaking out.

After having waited parts of six seasons to get his first postseason start, it took nearly nine minutes Thursday before he saw — or rather, didn't see — his first shot, a Pavel Datsyuk deflection that went in through a screen.

Bishop, 28, gave up two goals on the first four shots he faced and three on 14 overall, numbers that don't look good, especially after the Lightning dominated in a 3-2 loss to the Red Wings in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference series.

"I have to be better," Bishop said.

Needless to say, he can't wait for another crack at it today in Game 2 at Amalie Arena.

"Especially after the last game. We played so well, and obviously I'm not happy with the third goal that went in," Bishop said. "I'm definitely excited to get back out there. You never want to lose two in a row, so I'm going to do my hardest to make sure that doesn't happen."

Though both goalies Thursday made their first playoff starts, few likely expected Red Wings rookie Petr Mrazek to steal the show with 44 saves, outperforming Bishop, a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2014. To be fair, Bishop didn't lose the game for the Lightning, but he failed to be the difference maker he has been for most of the past two seasons in Tampa Bay.

He had some hard luck. The first two goals, including a power-play goal by Datsyuk, Bishop never saw due to screens. But after watching video of the game, Bishop was disappointed in the third goal, a crushing shorthanded goal by Luke Glendening that gave the Red Wings a 3-1 lead in the third period.

Glendening did a spin-o-rama before sending a backhand through Bishop's legs. Though Bishop got caught moving, it was a goal he had to stop. It's the kind of key save he typically makes.

"It was the same type of game all season. I'm not mad at the way I played," Bishop said. "I was able to make some saves. Just that one, I got caught out a little far."

Bishop said he was a little more nervous than he would have been for a typical regular-season start. But he insisted that he didn't play any differently than he did in the regular season, when he set a club record with 40 wins.

It's no secret Bishop plays better when he faces more shots, and going through long stretches without any action Thursday had an impact. Of the 19 games in which Bishop saw 25 or fewer shots this season, he gave up three or more goals in seven. He went 5-2-1 when facing 20 or fewer shots, allowing three or more goals three times.

"I don't think it's really mentally as hard," Bishop said of facing few shots. "Physically you get stiff; you're tighter. When you're getting shots, you're loose and athletic, and when you hadn't seen a shot in nine minutes, your body is a little stiff. You've got to shake the cobwebs out a little bit.

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"I've gotten better as the year has gone on playing those games when I don't see as many shots."

Even Mrazek said that he was helped by getting tested often early in Game 1: "Every goalie knows when you have three or four shots in a period, it's hard to stay in the game."

Coach Jon Cooper said that in the playoffs, it's often not how many goals a team scores, it's how many a team gives up. Thursday's third goal came with the game in the balance. But Cooper hasn't lost confidence in Bishop, calling him a "gamer."

"He's been a horse for us. He's been huge," center Brian Boyle said. "And (he) will continue to be huge."

But Bishop knows he won't have to stray too far from what he usually does. "It works all year," Bishop said. "I don't see it not working now."