from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,
It sounded like a title in the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew series – The Mystery of The Starting Goalie – and Jon Cooper kept the suspense going all day long. Cooper, the Tampa Bay Lightning coach, kept everyone guessing until just before game time to reveal that Ben Bishop, undisclosed injury and all, would start Monday’s pivotal third game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Moving gingerly, almost arthritically in the net, Bishop put on a gutsy bend-but-don’t break performance on behalf of the Lightning. Many times, he had trouble just getting to his feet after dropping down to his knees to stop shots. Moving post-to-post was a chore.
Bishop was saved by his goal posts at least once, and at times, the Blackhawks – especially in a dominating first period - looked like the gang who couldn’t shoot straight.
But in the end, the Lightning somehow pulled out the victory, Cedric Paquette scoring the winning goal in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory to take a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup final and regain home-ice advantage.
In the arena known as the Madhouse on Madison, where the decibel count can be loud enough to pop your eardrums, Paquette’s goal with 3:11 to go in regulation silenced the crowd and put the Lightning two wins away from clinching their first Stanley Cup championship since 2004.
Watch the game higlights below...
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