The “Injury Bug” has claimed another victim, goaltender Ben Bishop. Bishop left during the second period on Monday, November 19th, during the Stars’ loss to the New York Rangers.
That night, it was announced that Bishop would miss at least a week with a lower-body injury. Bishop’s injury was updated to a day-to-day injury, according to Mark Stepneski.
Ben Bishop is day-to-day with a lower body soft tissue injury. Will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) November 20, 2018
So far this season, Bishop has been 8-5-1 (15 starts in total) with a Save Percentage of .923. Bishop has had a great start this season, but the challenge will be to keep him healthy after his return. Bishop is one of those players that is difficult to keep in the line up because he gets injured often.
Stepping up to the plate (crease?) in Bishop’s absence will be Anton Khudobin A.K.A. Dobby. Khudobin is currently 3-4-1 for this season with a Save Percentage of .907. Khudobin did allow 5 goals during the Stars’ game versus the Penguins on November 21st, but those five goals do not fall just upon his shoulders. Dobby was pulled after those 5 goals but coach Montgomery had made sure that Dobby knew it was not just on him. In a post-game interview following the loss to the Penguins, head coach Jim Montgomery had said:
“That’s our team defense, our puck pressure. That’s not Dobby. I took him out and told him to get your head up and get ready for Friday.”
To back up Khudobin, the Stars called up Landon Bow from the Texas Stars. The 23 year-old Bow has played 12 games for the Texas Stars. Bow has a record of 6-3-1 and a Save Percentage of .896 so far this season. During the Stars’ game against the Penguins, Montgomery pulled Khudobin 8 minutes into the 2nd, thus Bow made his NHL debut. Bow did block all 14 shots he was faced with during the period and a half he played in.
Bishop’s time off the ice will be a telling time for Khudobin. The best thing is Khudobin has the full support of his team behind him. The team believes in Khudobin, wholeheartedly, and many of his teammates have spoken up about their confidence in Dobby. Centerman Tyler Seguin said:
“We’ve got all the faith in Dobby, all the confidence in the world,”
Moving forward is going to be a slog for the Stars. Pulling themselves up will be tough but they have the confidence to move forward.
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