Lightning goalie Bishop says wrist still recovering

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop said Monday his wrist has not yet fully recovered after he had surgery to repair a torn ligament in April.

Following an informal skate with teammates in Tampa Bay, Bishop said that he was still rehabbing the injury, although the wrist was feeling good.

"It's getting there. It's not quite 100 percent yet," Bishop told the Lightning's web site. "I have a little pad on the blocker now, just easing out of that and getting back to the normal blocker. It feels good to be back in Tampa skating with the guys. Everything else is going well."

The injury to Bishop's right wrist required the goaltender to wear a cast for the second half of last season and is unrelated to the dislocated elbow he sustained on April 8 in the first period of a 3-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The elbow injury forced Bishop to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs, in which Tampa Bay was swept in the Eastern Conference First Round by the Montreal Canadiens.

Bishop resumed skating and facing live shots on Aug. 7. He did not provide a timeline for his return, but sounded confident that he would be ready for the start of the season. The Lightning open their season Oct. 9 against the Florida Panthers.

"We've been doing a lot of different types of rehab. Throwing the baseball, basketball. Just a lot of different stuff to keep your interest because it starts to get old after a while," Bishop said. "It still needs to get a little stronger, but as far as movement and stopping the puck it feels pretty good."

The injuries ended a breakout season for Bishop, who established career highs with 37 wins, a 2.23 goals-against average, .924 save percentage and five shutouts. He was also a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the League's top goaltender.