Bishop blanks Rangers as Lightning take 3-2 NHL series lead

Ben Bishop rebounded from a subpar game four, stopping all 26 shots he faced as Tampa Bay blanked New York 2-0 to move within one win of advancing to the Stanley Cup finals.

Bishop bounced back with a perfect performance for his second career playoff shutout Sunday after allowing 10 goals in his previous two games in the Eastern Conference final which the Lightning now lead 3-2.

Steven Stamkos finished with a goal and an assist and Valtteri Filppula also scored for Tampa Bay who can wrap up the best-of-seven series against the Rangers with a victory Tuesday in game six in Florida.

The winner of the Eastern Conference final will face either the Chicago Blackhawks or the Anaheim Ducks in the NHL championship series.

Stamkos has now scored in four straight and six of his last seven games for the Lightning, who are 5-2 on the road in the playoffs. Stamkos has seven goals overall in the postseason.

Stamkos tied the Lightning's playoff record with his fourth straight goal.

Bishop got lots of help Sunday in front of a crowd of 18,000 at Madison Square Garden arena as the Lighting players blocked 24 shots and didn't allow a goal on the four powerplays the Rangers had.

He even tried his hand at some offense, shooting the puck at the Rangers' empty net in the final minute but he fanned on it.

Bishop's night didn't start out very well as he took a puck in the groin during the pre-game warmup.

Swedish national team goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 20 saves for the top seeded Rangers, who lost in five games to the Los Angeles Kings in last year's Stanley Cup finals.
Source: AFP