OTTAWA -- Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop left the game against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at 1:49 of the first period after he was struck on the back of the head by teammate Nikita Kucherov's skate.
He did not return to the game.
"At the beginning I didn't feel good at all, kind of real weak," Bishop said. "I kind of have my bearings now and feel good, just a little bit of a headache. I think it's gotten better as the game has gone on, so hopefully I'll wake up (Friday) and feel good and hopefully be able to practice."
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he does not believe his starting goalie is seriously injured.
"I felt a lot better after speaking with him after the first period," he said.
Bishop sustained the injury when he came out of his net and dove headfirst to challenge Ottawa's Mika Zibanejad in a race for the puck. The Senators forward came up with the puck, and Bishop was struck on the back of the head by Kucherov's skate.
Ottawa defenseman Marc Methot scored the first goal of the game into a wide open net while Bishop lay on the ice.
Anders Lindback replaced Bishop, who is 26-7-4 in 40 games and was making his first appearance in Ottawa since he was traded to Tampa Bay by the Senators on April 3, 2013, for Cory Conacher and a fourth-round draft pick.
Lightning forward Valtteri Filppula also left the game Thursday due to an apparent lower-body injury. He left the ice 29 seconds into the second following a hit by Ottawa defenseman Eric Gryba in the Senators zone. He returned for one shift six-and-a-half minutes later, but skated off shaking his head.
"He came out and took a shift, and then he couldn't take it any more, so he'll be another one we'll have to wait on," Cooper said.
Ottawa won the game, 5-3.