Midway through the third period, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop seemed to have things in hand.
He had stopped 24 shots by the San Jose Sharks, and he held a 4-2 lead, and he was well on his way to being one of the stars of the game.
And then it happened. Bishop was raked across the face by the stick of Tomas Hertl, the blade getting inside his mask and injuring him. The severity was not annouced, but Bishop immediately left the goal area holding his head. He left with a towel held to his face.
“It was scary in the way it happened,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “He looked a little bit frantic, but I think he’s going to be okay. He has a little cut by his eye, and he wears contacts, too”
Bishop is 6-1-1 in his last eight games.
The Sharks had eight power play opportunities, four of them in the final period. They scored three times against Tampa Bay.
Nikita Kucherov scored two goals for the Lightning. Brian Boyle and Erik Condra also scored.
For the Sharks, Matt Tennyson, Joel Ward and Brent Burns scored.
The Lightning play against Los Angeles tonight.
