PITTSBURGH — Kris Letang avoided leaving Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on a stretcher. Ben Bishop wasn't so lucky.
A few minutes after Letang briefly left the game after a face-first trip into the boards courtesy of Ryan Callahan's arm, Bishop, Tampa Bay's Vezina-finalist goalie, seriously injured his leg.
MORE: Callahan's hit was dumb and dirty
With Pittsburgh on the power play due to Callahan's hit, Bishop made a bad turn near the post and ... eesh.
Bishop injury. Lands right on his left leg. https://t.co/Y4WwhKQpEm
— Evgeni Malkin's Ego (@EvgeniMaIkinEgo) May 14, 2016
Bishop, with a history of leg and groin issues, was down for several minutes before the stretcher came out for him.
Ben Bishop is loaded onto a stretcher and carted off as Andrei Vasilevskiy becomes the #TBLightning starting goalie. pic.twitter.com/BTybxQIbHr
— Paul Ryan (@WFLAPaul) May 14, 2016
Bishop's backup is the highly regarded Andrei Vasilevskiy; he's been in this situation before. Still, expecting him to replace a guy who put up a .926 save percentage in the regular season and a .938 so far in the playoffs is a big ask.