Ben Bishop's mysterious injury has been a huge storyline in the Stanley Cup Final and caused him to miss Game 4, but Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper has guaranteed that he'll return to the crease by the time his team or the Chicago Blackhawks hoist the greatest trophy in sports.
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The Lightning started 20-year-old rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy in Game 4 as Bishop's unknown ailment kept him sidelined.
Vasilevskiy played admirably on the biggest stage in hockey in his first playoff start, yielding two goals on 19 shots as the Lightning fell to the Blackhawks 2-1 and the series was evened 2-2 at the United Center.
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Bishop left Game 2 in the third period with an unknown injury, but he returned for Game 3 and made 36 saves as Tampa Bay won to take a 2-1 series lead. Bishop then became a late scratch in Game 4.
Despite his absence, Cooper said his No. 1 goalie will return at some point this series.
"[Bishop] is going to play again in this series, there's no question," Cooper said via NHL.com. "I just don't know which game."
Bishop, 28, is 13-9 with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage this postseason with three shutouts -- two of which came in Game 7s against the Detroit Red Wings at home in Round 1 and the New York Rangers on the road in the Eastern Conference Final.
Bishop, who stands at 6-foot-7, is in his first career Stanley Cup playoffs and thus far has brought his team to within two wins of its second Cup in franchise history and first since 2004.
While he didn't notch the win in his first career playoff start, Vasilevskiy looked solid and he had the experience of winning in relief of Bishop in Game 2 under his belt.
Cooper has been coy when it comes to what is ailing Bishop and the injury is undisclosed. Bishop participated in the morning skate Wednesday after looking uncomfortable at times in Game 3, but it was later decided he wouldn't dress for Game 4.
"We knew [Wednesday morning] that he probably wasn't going to be able to go," Cooper said. "Got here tonight and we just confirmed it."
It'll be interesting to see who mans the crease in Game 5 when the series shifts back to the Amalie Arena on Saturday and the Lightning and Blackhawks each look to take a 3-2 series edge.
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