When you bear down on the Tampa Bay Lightning net, you're basically looking at a 20-per-cent slimmer version of Zdeno Chara in goalie equipment.
There are only seven players in the National Hockey League who are 6-foot-7 or taller, Chara being the tallest at 6-9.
Only one of them is a goaltender. That would be Tampa's Ben Bishop.
"They all look big now, they've all got this gear that makes them look huge, you don't see a lot of the net with any goalies," said the Lightning's Brian Boyle, "but Bish has been huge for us all year long."
He didn't just mean literally.
Boyle is one of only two players in the Tampa room who can stare his goalie in the eyes, not that this is typically required.
The Colorado-born netminder is, in the words of his coach Jon Cooper, "a guy that's been our rock for two years."
It's true that Bishop's numbers have dipped since the 2013-14 career year that saw him snap up a Vezina Trophy nomination, but he is nevertheless a major upgrade on Anders Lindback, another tall goalie who didn't demonstrate Bishop's skill level in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Habs in last year's first round (he was promptly shipped to Dallas).
After all, Bishop is 10-2-1 in his career against Montreal (and 5-1-1 at the Bell Centre, "I love playing here," he said).
He was laid up with an arm injury for the last playoff meeting with the Habs, and his post-season baptismal in a seven-game first-round series against Detroit revealed it is both different from the regular season, and very similar.
"You've got to go out there and stop the puck, no matter if it's preseason, regular season, postseason, it's still the same job being a goalie," he said.
If Bishop displayed a few nervy moments against the Red Wings, he delivered when the pressure was greatest: in Game 7.
After bouncing between the St. Louis Blues (who drafted him in the third round in 2005, 80 picks after the Montreal Canadiens drafted Carey Price) and the Ottawa Senators, Bishop has found a home, and his top form, in Tampa.
Boyle said his input goes beyond mere puck-stopping, "although he's had a great year with that."
"The way he handles the puck, the way he dictates and talks and communicates with us in the d-zone, it's really helpful to us … when we're hemmed in and he's talking. On breakouts, if there's a hard forecheck coming, he's very vocal, it's really helpful," he said.
Bishop's stickhandling can be a potent weapon – in the last game Tampa played in Montreal, a 5-3 Lightning win, the big man notched a pair of assists in the second period, setting up breakaway goals with sumptuous tape-to-tape passes.
It's a nice wrinkle to be able to throw into the game plan.
And while the 28-year-old University of Maine product may not be the most voluble when the cameras are turned on – in this regard, he is similar to Price, the man he will have to best in the second round – teammates say he's an easy-going presence in the dressing room.
Goalies are known for their eccentricities, Bishop is known for his notable lack of them.
"I'd say he's the least weird goalie I've ever played with," said second-year forward Cedric Paquette, who has encountered a few oddballs in his junior and minor pro days. "He's pretty relaxed, just another guy in the room other than on game day when he's in that zone."
Bishop may take the low-key approach to his preparation, but no one should mistake him for a passive actor on the rink.
He's had running battles with the Habs' Brendan Gallagher and – especially – grit merchant Brandon Prust; sometimes, they've taken a nasty turn.
In Tampa on March 16, Prust angered both Bishop and the Lightning bench by zestily taking out the goaltender as he went behind the net to clear a puck (and earned a minor penalty for his trouble).
In that case, his teammates rode to the rescue, in other instances, he's taken matters into his own hands.
In early 2014, Bishop and Prust mixed it up during a television timeout, the former had evidently taken umbrage to something the latter said.
Prust took a conciliatory approach before the second-round series, comparing Bishop to Ottawa's Craig Anderson – both seem to give the Habs fits – and said merely that "we have to continue to get pucks at the net and make it hard for him to see."
When Bishop was asked if he was looking forward to renewing acquaintances with Prust, he gave a half-smile.
"I don't know, we'll see," he said. "I'm usually just having fun out there."