Lightning's Bishop making name known in playoffs

NEW YORK -- Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop will look to continue his solid play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when his team visits the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday at Madison Square Garden (1 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

In helping the Lightning reach the conference final for the first time since 2011, Bishop was able to outlast Detroit Red Wings rookie Petr Mrazek in seven games and Montreal Canadiens star Carey Price, a Vezina Trophy nominee, in six games.

Now he comes face-to-face against Henrik Lundqvist, nicknamed "The King." But Bishop's mindset doesn't change knowing how well Lundqvist has played this postseason.

"That doesn't bother me at all," Bishop said. "At this time of the year every goalie you play is going to be a great goalie. So I don't try to think about that or watch and look at the headlines. This time of year, every goalie you play is going to be really good."

Bishop has a 1.81 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in 13 games. In three regular-season victories against the Rangers, he had a 2.33 GAA. Lundqvist had a 4.74 GAA against the Lightning.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Bishop must earn the reputation of big-game goalie in this year's playoffs.

"Bishop hasn't been around long enough to probably get the credit he deserves; you look at Carey Price, his resume speaks for itself," Cooper said. "You look at Henrik Lundqvist, his resume speaks for itself. Bishop's resume is being written in this year's playoffs. So for him to not get his due, I think he's slowly going to get his due. He's writing it right before our eyes, and it's awesome to watch a kid kind of carve out his niche in the greatest league in the world.

"I think that's what he's doing."