|
 At what cost for each remains to be seen.
Rookie left winger Ondrej Palat scored twice in the Lightning's 3-0
victory over the Maple Leafs at Tampa Bay Times Forum, eliminating
the Maple Leafs from playoff contention. But the win could
ultimately prove costly for Tampa Bay as goaltender Ben Bishop and
defenseman Sami Salo were injured.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Bishop had not been fully evaluated
immediately after the game.
"It's called a team because everyone is important," Cooper said.
If Bishop is seriously injured, backup Anders Lindback will be
especially so, just like on Tuesday in his 25-save performance off
the bench.
Tampa Bay improved to 43-27-9 and pulled within two points of the
Montreal Canadiens for the second seed in the Atlantic Division
while ending a two-game losing streak against less successful teams.
Toronto, which needed to win its final three games to maintain
miniscule playoff possibilities, fell to 38-34-8.
The most popular and scrutinized team of English-speaking Canada has
failed to reach the playoffs for eight of the last nine years and
has gone 47 years without a Stanley Cup. For a team within the
playoff boundary at the trade deadline, the plummet was epic and the
criticism will be harsh.
"It happened pretty quick in the last three weeks," center and
alternate captain Jay Clement said. "That's all it takes is a bad
stretch, that time of year."
Palat scored twice in the second period, extending his scoring
streak to four consecutive games. Second in the league in rookie
scoring, he zipped a wrist shot past Maple Leafs defenseman Carl
Gunnarsson and into the top corner of the goal with 10:41 left for
his 21st goal of the season. Defensemen Victor Hedman (39) and Radko
Gudas (19) had assists.
Then Palat chipped the puck in from a sharp angle on a power play
with less than six minutes left. Center Steven Stamkos (14) and
Hedman (40) had assists as Palat collected a rebound off the back
boards and beat goaltender James Reimer.
Hedman capped a three-point game with an empty-net goal with 12
seconds remaining, his 13th goal of the season.
Tampa Bay's attempt to right itself before the playoffs took an
ominous misstep less than seven minutes into the game, however, when
Bishop appeared to injure his left arm falling to the ice after
stretching to snare an airborne puck.
Bishop, in the top five in the NHL in wins (37), shutouts (5) and
save percentage (.924) and who had solidified the position in Tampa
Bay for the first time in nearly a decade, landed hard on his left
wrist and writhed on the ice of several minutes. He did not move his
left arm as he was helped off the ice by a trainer and did not
return because of what the team described as an "upper-body injury."
[to top of second column] |
Lindback, was more than adequate, posting 24 saves and shutting down
three power plays.
"It's my job to be able to come in when they give me a chance," said
Lindback, who won for the first time in 34 games. "Obviously, it
feels good. It's one thing, too, though, you can't hang your hat on
it. We have got another game coming up. I don't know what Bish is
doing, but we've got to play as a team together."
Cooper said Lindback was "outstanding for us."
"I thought he was calm, cool and collected in there," he said.
Reimer has not won as a starter in nine straight games, but escaped
a manic first period scoreless after snuffing center Steven Stamkos'
attempt to jam in a back pass from Palat with six minutes left and
then blocking down Stamkos' slap shot from the wing with 4:28 to go.
Defenseman Tim Gleason spirited a Stamkos tip at the goal line out
of danger in the last minute as Reimer (31 saves) clambered back
into position.
Right winger Phil Kessel had a chance to extend his scoring streak
against the Lightning to 11 games with 11:29 left in the second
period, but his chip toward an open net glanced off the pipe.
"Obviously, I'm really disappointed," he said of the playoff miss,
"and I feel like I've let a lot of people down."
NOTES: Lightning C Steven Stamkos played right wing on a top line
with C Tyler Johnson and LW Ondrej Palat. ... The Lightning on
Monday signed general manager Steve Yzerman to a four-year contract
extension through the 2018-19 season. The Lightning are 144-114-32
with two playoff appearances since the former Detroit Red Wings star
was hired in May 2010. ... Tampa Bay entered having allowed the
first goal in six of its last eight games and tied for 25th in
league with just four wins when trailing after the first period. ...
Maple Leafs RW Joffrey Lupul will likely miss the rest of the season
because he requires knee surgery. He has 22 goals and 44 assists in
69 games this season. ... Toronto was also with C Dave Bolland
(ankle) and goaltender Jonathan Bernier (knee).
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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