from Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune,

When Ben Bishop fell to the ice diving for a puck on April 8, the conventional thinking suggested the Lightning’s playoffs hopes plummeted with him.

A week later, confidence in Tampa Bay’s goaltending has been almost fully restored as the Lightning get set to start their opening-round playoff series against Montreal. With Bishop not expected to be ready to return from what the team classified as an upper body injury, Anders Lindback is expected to get the call for Game 1 on Wednesday.

Whatever doubts might have lingered when the Lightning were forced to turn to Lindback were washed away in Lindback’s three appearances down the stretch.

Since stepping in for Bishop early in the first period against Toronto, Lindback has allowed just two goals in three games, posting a 0.67 goals-against average and .975 save percentage while winning all three games. His first shutout in a Lightning jersey during Sunday’s 1-0 shootout victory in Washington clinched home ice for Tampa Bay....

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence, and I said it time and time again: that is just a great guy and he works his tail off,’’ defenseman Matt Carle said. “So, it’s no surprise to see how well he’s doing. And it’s just great for our team and we have a lot of confidence playing in front of him.’’

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