Loss of Ben Bishop just another hurdle for the Lightning

PITTSBURGH — The concern must have been astronomical on the Tampa Bay Lightning bench when starting goalie Ben Bishop left Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on Friday on a stretcher with an apparent lower-body injury.

With 7:35 remaining in the first period, Bishop crumbled to the ice in agony after scrambling to get back into position and appeared to be clutching his left knee. It was the latest name added to a long list of injuries to key players on a team that somehow manages to continue to push forward.

That was the case again Friday when the resilient Lightning, who were already without No. 1 center Steven Stamkos and top-pair defenseman Anton Stralman, won the opener of this best-of-7 series 3-1.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said X-rays on Bishop came back negative, but it’s unlikely he’ll be able to play Game 2 here on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

“You’re concerned for your guy,” Cooper said. “Gosh, I don’t think I’ve seen that since [Stamkos] went down a couple of years ago (with a broken leg). It just brings memories like that, situations that have happened before. When we got some test results back and found out it wasn’t as … he’s definitely hurt, but there’s nothing structurally wrong right now. That was a big relief.

“But the guys, it’s a pretty focused group. Everybody was concerned for Ben’s health, but there wasn’t concern about, ‘Oh my gosh, well the …

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