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DALBen Bishop Bounces Back With Vezina-Worthy Season For Dallas
The 2018/19 season might prove to be third time lucky for Dallas Stars’ netminder Ben Bishop as far as the Vezina Trophy is concerned. He’s been named a finalist for the trophy twice before as the NHL’s top goalie and is currently enjoying his best season yet.
Nothing’s written in stone when it comes to the league’s annual awards, but Bishop’s fine play has kept his team in the hunt for a playoff spot and he’s among the top goalies out there when it comes to the stats.
As of March 20th, the 32-year-old native of Denver, Colorado had won his last five games and posted a 0.45 goals-against average along with a 98.4 save percentage. He also registered three straight shutouts in that stretch. The Stars were holding the first wild card playoff spot at the time and had a somewhat healthy five point lead over the Minnesota Wild who were two spots behind them.
Dallas might have sewn up a postseason position by now if Bishop hadn’t missed 13 games this season due to injuries. Their chances of playing past April 6th are obviously a lot greater if he can remain healthy over the final nine games of the season. The Stars are 7-2-1 in their past 10 outings, but still have to play Minnesota, the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks, who are all trying to catch them for a playoff spot.
Bishop played 53 games last season with a 2.29 GAA and 91.6 save percentage. He went 26-17-5, so didn’t have a bad year at all. However, he’s 25-14-2 at the moment with career bests in GAA and save percentage at 2.05 and 93.2 respectively. He was leading the league in save percentage and ranked second in GAA and tied for second with six shutouts in 42 games.
But while Bishop has been leading the way for the Stars, we should also recognize the play of backup netminder Anton Khudobin as he’s posted a 2.51 GAA and 92.5 save percentage in 35 games this year with a pair of shutouts. However, he’s been a bit unlucky when it comes to earning wins as his record is 13-15-4.
There’s no doubt Bishop is the top guy in Dallas though and if he ends up leading the league in GAA and save percentage you could also make a legitimate argument for him being named a finalist for the Hart Trophy. He’ll definitely need to help the Stars lockup a playoff spot to be considered as league MVP though.
At 6-feet-7-inches tall and 225 lbs, Bishop has always covered a lot of net. He’s quite agile for his size and handles the puck well, but has always suffered a bit from the injury bug. Dallas head coach Jim Montgomery recently said the club may alter the goalie’s offseason conditioning program to try and help cut down on his soft tissue injuries next season.
Bishop was originally drafted in 2005 by the St. Louis Blues in the third round with the 85th overall pick. He was born in Colorado, but played minor hockey in St. Louis as a child and converted to playing in net at the age of eight after starting out as a forward. He played 45 games for the Texas Tornado of the NAHL (North American Hockey League) in 2004/05 and posted a league-high 35 wins and just eight losses with five shutouts. He led his squad to the Gold Cup and national title and was named to the league’s All Rookie Team.
Following junior hockey Bishop played for the University of Maine for three seasons and enjoyed a stellar college career. He signed with the Blues in 2008 and made his pro debut with the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League shortly after. The Blues called him up in October of 2008 for his NHL debut and he played six games with the team that season.
Bishop’s career in St. Louis consisted of only 13 NHL games with the majority of his time being spent in the AHL. He was then traded to the Ottawa Senators in February of 2012. At the time, he was leading the AHL in wins, GAA, save percentage and shutouts. Bishop played 10 games with Ottawa to finish out the season, but started 2012/13 back in the AHL with the Binghamton Senators due to the NHL lockout.
Ottawa recalled him once the NHL season faced off and Bishop got into 13 games before being dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the trade deadline. He earned a shutout in his first game with Tampa and played nine games before the season ended. Bishop’s NHL career really took off the next season as he became the starter in Tampa and played 63, 62 and 61 contests over the next three campaigns. He helped lead the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014/15, but they were eliminated in six games by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Bishop set several goaltending records with the Lightning franchise during his stay, but the pending free agent was sent to the Los Angeles Kings just before the trade deadline in February of 2017. He played just seven times with the Kings before being dealt to Dallas after the season. The Stars then signed the unrestricted free agent to a six-year deal in May of 2017 worth a total of $29.5 million.
Bishop’s regular-season GAA in the NHL stands at 2.31 with a save percentage of 92.0 along with 30 shutouts. He’s also gone 21-13 in the playoffs with a 2.09 GAA and 92.6 save percentage. He’s been one of the best goalies in the league since entering it and has definitely been the Stars’ MVP this season. He’s among the NHL’s best at five-on-five play and when it comes to saving high-percentage shots from the slot.
In 2015/16 Bishop was runner up for the Vezina Trophy and named to the Second All Star Team after leading the league with a 2.06 GAA. He was also one of three finalists for the award for 2013/14, both times as a member of the Lightning.
With this being his best NHL campaign Bishop should once again get some recognition when Vezina finalists are named later this year. But if the Stars can hold onto their playoff spot and he can continue his excellent play, Bishop’s aim may be a much bigger piece of silverware this year…the Stanley Cup.
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