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Ben Bishop forges a unique, winning path

 
Ben Bishop, robbing Canadiens right wing Dale Weise, has made a splash in his NHL playoff debut.
Ben Bishop, robbing Canadiens right wing Dale Weise, has made a splash in his NHL playoff debut.
Published June 3, 2015

TAMPA — Ben Bishop had just made history, racking up his second Game 7 shutout of his first postseason, lifting the Lightning into the Stanley Cup final.

But after one of the biggest games of his life, Bishop, 28, took the spotlight of an on-ice TV interview Friday to congratulate childhood friend Tommy Brooks, who got engaged that day.

"I knew they were all at his house watching, all my close friends and family," Bishop said, smiling. "It was a good opportunity to give him a little shout-out, I know they really enjoyed it."

Bishop is having the time of his life, the 6-foot-7 kid from St. Louis leading the Lightning into the final, which opens tonight against the Blackhawks. Tampa Bay wouldn't be here without Bishop, the fun-loving jokester who has been unflappable under pressure, putting him in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

"Unreal experience," he said.

When a sold-out Belle Centre in Montreal chanted his name in the second round, Bishop loved it, reminding him of his days at the University of Maine.

When Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban suggested Bishop was "sitting on a horseshoe," he laughed it off. Bishop printed out a photo of a horseshoe, displaying it on the seat of his locker stall after a series-clinching win. "It was all in good fun," he said.

There's a reason for Bishop's swagger. For all the questions and doubters, he has outdueled likely league MVP Carey Price and former Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist the past two rounds.

And with four more wins, he would be the fifth goalie in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to start and win a Stanley Cup in his first NHL playoffs, joining the likes of Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy.

"That's how you create a legacy," said CBC analyst Darren Pang, a former NHL goaltender. "That's how you begin an aura that will carry you throughout a long and successful career. That's how all the great ones did it."

• • •

Bishop spent his early childhood as a forward, a scorer.

If you've watched him play the puck, you'll understand. But during a pick-up game in his elementary school years, he took his turn at goalie. He never looked back.

Bishop played a lot of sports, including baseball (he's a die-hard Cardinals fan), tennis (his grandfather was a pro) and now golf (he's a seven handicap).

But after watching a Blues home game, he told his dad, Ben, "I want to do that."

It wasn't an easy road. For all the talk about All-Star center Tyler Johnson being cut by a USHL team, Bishop was cut by the same team (Tri-City Storm), the same coach (Bliss Littler), two years earlier. "One of the best things that ever happened to me," Bishop said.

He ended up with the Texas Tornado, a juniors team in the NAHL."He was 6-foot-7, and everybody said he'll never be able to play, he's way too tall," said Tony Curtale, the Tornado coach. "He looked like Bambi, tall with little legs."

But Bishop played like a beast, leading the Tornado to the championship, sweeping Texarkana (coached by Jon Cooper) along the way. Then there was the fight.

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"My old fans in Texas are still talking about it," Curtale said.

Curtale said that during a scrum, the opposing goalie was talking trash to Bishop, who raced to center ice and took him down with two punches.

When Maine was recruiting goalies, Curtale called goaltender coach Grant Standbrook and implored him to take Bishop, saying, "He's going to be a player."

• • •

Before Bishop starred at Maine, leading them to two Frozen Fours, he played in an exhibition in St. Louis, which was supposed to be old Blues alumni.

But with the NHL lockout, it turned into an All-Star Game, with Jeremy Roenick and Brett Hull, among others. "I saw the roster, and my jaw dropped to the ground," Bishop said.

Bishop's team won, then in a shootout competition he stopped all five shots.

"It was Roenick, (Luc) Robitaille, Adam Foote, Joe Nieuwendyk and Rob Blake," Bishop said. "All five probably are going to the Hall of Fame."

Said Pang: "The NHL players were shaking their head. He stood on his head, and stole the show."

The Blues picked Bishop in the third round in 2005 but traded him to Ottawa in 2011. It was a blessing to not have the pressure of playing for his hometown team.

Before the Lightning acquired Bishop in the spring of 2013, general manager Steve Yzerman called long-time friend Pang.

"I remember telling Steve, 'Not only will Ben be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL, I believe he'll be a star," Pang said.

Netting Bishop, for prospect Cory Conacher, was a franchise-turning moment for Tampa Bay, giving it the No. 1 goalie it longed for since Nikolai Khabibulin, who was on the 2004 Cup team.

Bishop set franchise records for wins in back-to-back seasons, a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2014. He 13-5 with a 2.32 goals against average this postseason, including 7-1 after a Lightning loss.

"He's never gone away," Pang said. "He just never fades away."

Contact Joe Smith at joesmith@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_JSmith.