UPDATE SATURDAY: MRI results on the goaltender Ben Bishop were negative. The goalie is considered day-to-day. Cooper says Bishop is still out indefinitely with a lower body injury. That’s the way Cooper handles all injuries in the postseason.

UPDATE: Lightning Coach Jon Cooper said X-rays and other tests conducted on Ben Bishop have all come back negative. Cooper did not specify that Bishop has had an MRI yet. We will know more on Bishop’s status Saturday.

PREVIOUS STORY: PITTSBURGH – The Tampa Bay Lightning’s 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday night may have come at a heavy price.

Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop left the ice on a stretcher in the first period after injuring his left leg. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 stops while filling in and the Lighting took advantage of some sloppy miscues by Pittsburgh’s defense to take away home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.

Game 2 is Monday night in Pittsburgh.

Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin scored for Tampa Bay, and the Lightning kept Pittsburgh’s dynamic offense under wraps for long stretches.

Patric Hornqvist picked up his sixth goal of the playoffs for the Penguins. Rookie goaltender Matt Murray finished with 17 saves, but was put in a tough spot several times because of defensive miscues in front of him.

LIVE UPDATES:

Third period:

10:51 p.m. The Lightning lose Bishop but take Game 1 with a 3-1 win in Pittsburgh.

10:47 p.m. The Penguins pull Murray.

10:43 p.m. Vasilevskiy is quicker than Kessel. Outstanding lateral movement by Vasilevskiy.

10:42 p.m. Palat shoves Dumelin into the boards from behind. Dumelin’s head hit the boards. Palat gets two minutes, not five.

10:39 p.m. We’re down to the final TV timeout. The Lightning still lead the Penguins 3-1.

10:26 p.m. Vasilevskiy looks more than capable of picking up right where Bishop left off. You can’t replace a Vezina candidate, but there has been no drop off so far.

Second period:

9:53 p.m. After 2 periods, the Lightning lead the Penguins 3-1. Killorn, Palat, Drouin and Hornqvist have had goals. The Penguins have out-shot the Lightning 19-15.

9:52 p.m. Kessel just duffed an empty net chance, but it doesn’t matter. A Hornqvist wrister beats Vasilevskiy, and it’s 3-1.

9:48 p.m. Jonathan Drouin has a missile under the crossbar to extend the Lightning lead to 3-0.

9:43 p.m. With 6:08 to go in the 2nd period, the Lightning lead the Penguins 2-0. Killorn and Palat had goals. Bishop is not coming back, but Johnson has returned.

9:36 p.m. Johnson just left the dressing room and skated a lap. He is returning to the bench but looked uncertain after skating that lap.

9:34 p.m. Boyle thwarts a Penguins chance with a gutsy block. The Lightning kill off the Nesterov penalty and continue to lead 2-0.

9:32 p.m. Vasilevskiy has his first big save of the night. The Penguins are looking for a spark on the power play with Nesterov in the box.

9:30 p.m. Tyler Johnson still hasn’t returned to the Lightning bench. The Bolts are without their starting goalie and a top-six forward.

9:20 p.m: The Lightning’s Ondrej Palat has thepower play goal to make it 2-0.

9:19 p.m. Malkin holds Hedman, and he’s headed to the box. The Lightning power play starts early in the 2nd.First period: 

8:58 p.m. Through one extremely eventful period, the Lightning lead 1-0 thanks to a late goal by Killorn. But, Bishop is in an ambulance, and Johnson is hurt too.

8:56 p.m. Tyler Johnson is down for The Lightning. He was taken off the ice. 

8:54 p.m. Alex Killorn breaks in. The Lightning score first and lead 1-0.

8:49 p.m. Letang is back on the Pittsburgh bench. He just skated a lap.

8:46 p.m. Andrei Vasilevskiy scrambles to get warm. Officials give him a few extra seconds.

8:41 p.m. Bishop is being taken from the ice on a stretcher.

8:38 p.m. Bishop is holding his left leg, writhing around the ice.

8:37 p.m. Ben Bishop is down and grabbing his head.

8:35 p.m. The Penguins are out-shooting the Lightning 9-2 through the first 10 minutes.

8:29 p.m. The five minute major is up. The Lightning are back at full strength. Callahan was booed back on to the ice.

8:28 p.m. The Lightning hold on and survive a prolonged stretch of pressure, exacerbated by Sustr breaking his stick. It’s still 0-0 with 1:43 left in major.

8:26 p.m. The Penguins power play looks a little out of sorts. Over halfway through, they’ve only taken two shots so far.

8:23 p.m. Bishop robs Malkin with the right pad.

8:22 p.m. Ryan Callahan gets a 5-minute major penalty.

8:22 p.m. Letang gets up and is helped off the ice.

8:20 p.m. Callahan hits Letang from behind. Letang is still down.

8:19 p.m. Murray robs Palat on a point-blank one-timer.

8:16 p.m. The Lightning come out firing. Hedman steps into a slapper and catches Murray up high.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — On the calendar, the gap between the last time the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning met and Friday night’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals is less than three months.

Within the lifespan of a season, it seems a lot longer.

When the Lightning blew past the Penguins 4-2 on Feb. 20 – a victory that earned Tampa Bay a sweep of its three-game season series with Pittsburgh – Steven Stamkos was still scoring goals, Matt Murray was still the Penguins’ third option in net and the Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan’s midseason overhaul remained very much a work in progress.

Not anymore. Stamkos remains out indefinitely while dealing with a blood clot while Murray has become a revelation in near lockstep with the Penguins’ evolution from enigmatic underachiever to Stanley Cup favorite. No wonder the Penguins couldn’t help but laugh when asked if they could remember what happened on that sloppy Saturday in mid-winter when the Lightning built a quick three-goal lead and cruised.

“I couldn’t even tell you,” Pittsburgh forward Phil Kessel said. “I don’t even remember when we played them last.”

Probably best to just block it out and press forward anyway at a time of year where short-term memory loss is an asset.

The Penguins wrapped up a 12-day highwire act against rival Washington on Tuesday night when Nick Bonino fired home the winner in overtime of Game 6. The cathartic celebration sent Pittsburgh to the conference finals for the fourth time since 2008. Less than 72 hours later, they face the only team that’s been more dominant in the postseason.

SLIDESHOW: Road to the Cup – #BoltsPride

The Lightning raced through the first two rounds of the playoffs, dropping one game each to Detroit and the New York Islanders. Remarkable, considering they’ve been without Stamkos and defenseman Anton Stralman, still recovering from a fractured left leg.

Stamkos is practicing but the five-time All Star hasn’t been cleared for contact. Stralman appears to be on the verge of returning, though coach Jon Cooper is in no hurry to announce his lineup, saying Thursday “it’s just pointless to talk about whether they’re going to play or not.”

Stamkos did wear a blue jersey on the game day. Stamkos says he’s optimistic to return this series.

“There’s a chance,” the captain said. “If there wasn’t, I’d have my pom-poms out and be a cheerleader.”

He explained he doesn’t have to be off blood thinners to return to the lineup. Doctors gave him a reason to be optimistic about returning to the lineup during this series.

Stralman scored four times against Pittsburgh during the regular season, though he’s not exactly ready to proclaim himself the missing ingredient as Tampa Bay tries to reach its second consecutive Stanley Cup final.

“I don’t think I ever scored a goal against the Penguins until this year, so I don’t know what that tells you,” Stralman said. “Stuff like that happens, just a fluke.”

Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay meeting with a spot to play for the Cup, however, is not. Shortly after fizzling against the Lightning in February, the Penguins put together a 14-2 surge to end the regular season they have carried into May. Tampa Bay’s speed and comfort in close games – the Lightning are 5-0 in one-goal contests in the playoffs – are a sign their long postseason run a year ago wasn’t just puck luck.

Follow Paul on Twitter @WFLAPaul and LIKE his Facebook page to see more exclusive photos, video and game analysis. Follow @WFLADan on Twitter – he joined Paul for the Bolts coverage and pre- and post-game specials from Pittsburgh.

Check out Tampa vs. Pittsburgh Bridge Challenge the cities are taking to Twitter to settle.JOIN US for WFLA Watch Party at Channelside Bay Plaza Friday, May 13. The party starts at 6 p.m. We will have exclusive prizes including a signed Ben Bishop jersey.

JOIN US for WFLA Watch Party at Channelside Bay Plaza Friday, May 13. The party starts at 6 p.m. We will have exclusive prizes including a signed Ben Bishop jersey.

Some things to look for heading into what could be a wide-open two weeks (if necessary, of course):

WELL RESTED: Tampa Bay played 26 playoff games last spring, with the heavy workload eventually taking its toll in the Stanley Cup final, where the Lightning lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. They’ve been well-rested this time around. They had six days off before taking on the Islanders and earned a four-day break before facing the Penguins. Veteran center Brian Boyle welcomed the break but said it’s difficult to predict how it’ll how it’ll impact this series. “It remains to be seen. Hopefully we’re rested and focused,” Boyle said. Tampa Bay lost Game 1 against the Islanders, then won four straight to advance.

BIG GOALIES: Sullivan has yet to name a Game 1 starter in net, though the 21-year-old Murray has made a compelling case to stay on the job even with Marc-Andre Fleury back from a concussion. The 6-foot-4 Murray outplayed Vezina Trophy finalist Braden Holtby in the last round, now he’ll see 6-7 Ben Bishop at the other end of the rink. Bishop is 8-2 with a 1.89 goals against so far.

“He takes up a lot of the net,” Kessel said. “We’ve got to make him handle a lot of shots and get second opportunities on him.”

NOT SO DYNAMIC DUO: It’s a testament to the depth the Penguins have built around Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin that they handled the Capitals without much help (on the scoresheet at least) from their two franchise cornerstones. The former MVPs combined for just four points against Washington while the Penguins relied heavily on the trio of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Kessel to provide the punch that sent the Capitals home for the eighth time in nine playoff meetings with Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford is hardly concerned about who puts the puck in the net, so long as it gets there.

“I don’t care if Matt Murray gets the goals,” Rutherford said.