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Ben Bishop undergoes successful wrist surgery

Ben Bishop

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop rolls on the ice after injuring his shoulder against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 8, 2014, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

AP

For Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, the 2013-14 season was a breakthrough campaign, but it was also a painful one in some ways. That can be seen in how his run ended and the fact that he underwent successful wrist surgery on a torn ligament in his right wrist on Tuesday.

The team expects Bishop to be ready for the 2014-15 season’s training camp.

Remarkably, his wrist wasn’t even the issue that forced him to miss out on the Lightning’s playoff series (in which it must have been painful to watch his team get swept by the Montreal Canadiens). Instead, he acknowledged that the problem was a dislocated elbow suffered on April 8. This wrist issue had been bothering the U.S.-born goalie since February.

Combine those injury issues with being left off the U.S. Olympic team despite superlative numbers in 2013-14 and it’s easy to chalk this up as a rough year for the big goalie.

Still, it wasn’t all bad for the 27-year-old. He’s one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy thanks to those superlative numbers and it’s abundantly clear that he’s the go-to guy in the Lightning net.

The Bolts must hope that they can go to him if they make the playoffs next season, then.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins