Advertisement

Lightning: Steven Stamkos' cool swag; Ben Bishop's cool mask

 
Published March 1, 2015

Short shift with C Steven Stamkos

Must-TiVo TV show: Suits

Favorite movie: Remember the Titans

Second-best sport growing up: Baseball. Played shortstop.

What job you'd have if not in hockey: I'd try to make it in baseball.

Favorite piece of memorabilia: I've got a Masters flag signed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods.

How'd you pull that off? Funny story, actually. A fan knew I was a big golf fan and gave it to me in exchange for a signed stick. So it's personalized to me. It's pretty cool. I think I won that trade.

One player you'd love to play with that you haven't: I've never had a chance to play with (Sidney Crosby). Always been looking forward to that opportunity, just didn't work out. That'd be a guy I'd love to play with.

A goalie's glow

Goalie Ben Bishop debuted his glow-in-the-dark mask Friday night and picked up a shutout in a 4-0 win over the Blackhawks.

"It's 1-for-1," Bishop said, smiling.

The mask was designed by Dave Gunnarsson, with whom Bishop has worked for years. The mask originally had just a small Lightning decal that glowed in the dark due to special paint. Bishop requested the rest of the mask, which features lightning bolts, get similar treatment, the blue and white popping out.

"It's pretty cool," Bishop said. "Not many people have it, so it's kind of fun to be the first. Hope the fans like it." The mask was inspired by the sci-fi film Tron. Though Bishop hasn't seen the movie, he said he'll have to. And he was surprised the mask got so much attention on social media after first featured on yahoo.com last week. "I didn't know it would blow up like it did," he said.

Heading south

More than 70 Lightning fans were expected to take a bus to Sunrise for today's game against the Panthers. Organized by fan Connor Akeman, 20, a student at USF, the trip sold out in 48-72 hours after the supporters group found out about it, fan Joyce Petersen said.

"We hope to create a home-game feel for the team while away in Miami," Petersen wrote in an email. "We want to make sure the entire Lightning organization know they have passionate fans who love the team."

From the fans

For G Andrei Vasilevskiy: Why do you wear No. 88?

Vasilevskiy: "I used to every time be No. 30, but right now it's (Ben Bishop's number). In the KHL, we had a forward who got No. 30, and they asked me what number I wanted. I thought 88 looks good cause I didn't see any goalie wear 88, and that's different. That's cool."

Have a question for a Lightning player? Send them to me at joesmith@tampabay.com or to @TBTimes_JSmith, and we'll answer them in Sunday papers.