Down three goals in the third period, the Tampa Bay Lightning turned the pressure on at the other end against Boston Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask. But then, on a low-percentage shot from David Pastrnak in the corner, a puck was banked off center Tyler Johnson’s skate and into the Tampa net.

The bounce, a microcosm of Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop’s year, put a dagger in the Bolts in what would finish as a 4-1 Sunday loss to the Black and Gold at TD Garden, the club’s second in a row.

It was not the only bad break in front of No. 30 on the night, either.

On the first Boston goal of the afternoon, the Lightning allowed two B’s forwards to occupy the front of the Lightning net, and it was Dominic Moore that capitalized, with a bouncing puck putaway. On the second goal, a power-play goal for the B’s, it was a David Backes, a player Bishop battled throughout the night for vision in front of his crease, deflection in front of the net that beat Bishop. And on the third goal against, the Bruins capitalized on transition behind Jimmy Hayes’ first goal in 36 games.

“You’ve got to feel for him, because that first period he was solid. There wasn’t very many chances either way, but he was commanding, he was playing the puck, and then these bounces go in on him,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “That first one, you can’t allow two of their guys at the net and just have them swatting at pucks. We’ve got to help him out a little bit and I don’t know if we did.”

With the loss, Bishop’s stats on the year dropped to a 7-8-0 record with a 3.04 goals against average and .902 save percentage. Hardly the norm for the 6-foot-7 Bishop, who has never posted anything lower than a .916 save percentage or higher than a 2.32 goals against average during his time in TB.

But the Lightning are not going to worry about Bishop just yet.

“It’s 82 games,” Cooper said of Bishop’s potentially rattled confidence. “There’s so many ebbs and flows, and the lows aren’t that low in the big picture and the highs aren’t really that high and you’ve got to kind of just stay the course. It’s not different than when a goal scorer doesn’t score in ten and everybody uses that, ‘Oh we’re gripping the stick too tight’, but it’s just, keep going to work and eventually goal scorers will score and guys that set up guys will set up guys and good goalies will stop pucks. That’s what happens. So, you’ve just got the weather through it.”

“It’s kind of been the story of the year,” Bishop said of his luck. “The bad bounce, the tips, you know goals off my own players you know so it kind of seems like it keeps happening every single game, but nobody is going to feel sorry for us, we just got to keep working and eventually the tides will turn.”

It helps and at the same time does not help Bishop, in a contract year and unlikely to return to Tampa Bay given everything else that’s on general manager Steve Yzerman’s plate, that the Lightning are getting significant contributions from Bishop’s backup (or perhaps platoon partner), Andrei Vasilevskiy, with six wins and a .951 save percentage in eight games this season.

“Game in and game out it’s a little frustrating,” Bishop admitted of his struggles.

“But at the same time you know nobody is going to feel sorry for you.”

Random thoughts and notes

- The Lightning really didn’t have anybody going in this game with the exception of Jonathan Drouin.

Credited with eight shots on goal in over 20 minutes of ice time, No. 27 was the lone dynamic gamechanging talent that really appeared to have his legs in this contest, and it was no shock that most of the Lightning’s high quality opportunities came off the stick of Drouin.

“I thought he had a strong game today and he warranted the ice time,” Cooper said. “It’s – when he’s skating and he commanded the puck tonight and he deserved the ice he got.”

“I just thought we were getting chances. Every time I stepped on the ice, the puck would find me to get a shot off,” noted Drouin. “But I want to shoot more, I want to get good shots and I thought me and [Brayden] Point did a good job at the end.”

Drouin has three goals and seven points in 16 games this season.

- The loss didn’t come without a casualty for the Bolts, unfortunately, as Ondrej Palat exited this game earlier than expected with an undisclosed injury. Cooper did not want to speculate on the injury.

- With just seven goals and 14 points in 23 games thus far, it hasn’t exactly been a season to remember for Tyler Johnson. And though Johnson saw his six-game point streak come to an end Sunday afternoon in Boston, the 5-foot-9 center feels his game is certainly coming around.

“I feel good with my speed; I feel like I’m getting the puck more often,” Johnson noted. “I felt like at the beginning of the season I was working and everything, but it just wasn’t quite in the right area, so I kind of had to get some rust off and had to get in those areas to be able to get the puck and be able to use my speed when I wanted to. It’s been better, just trying to work with the linemates and get some chemistry going and try to help each other out as much as possible.”

The Lightning certainly need Johnson to be even better, especially in Steven Stamkos’ absence.

Up next

The Lightning are on the road for a Tuesday night head-to-head with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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