The NHL Awards are just 2 weeks away and the Dallas Stars’ Ben Bishop is up for the Vezina Trophy! This isn’t Ben Bishop’s first time up for the Vezina but after the season he’s had, he’s going to be the one taking it home.
Bishop, a 32-year-old goaltender, has been a Vezina finalist 2 times before finishing in 2nd (2015-2016) and 3rd (2013-2014). This year is his year. Bish is up against Robin Lehner of the New York Islanders and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Between the 3 of them, Ben Bishop has the best Goals Against Average at 1.98 and the best Save Percentage with .934! Bish has a record of 27-15-2 in the regular season with only 87 goals against. He was a brick wall for the Stars in the regular season, a player to be relied upon and most of the time he was the reason the Stars won.
Although playoffs aren’t a big part of the Awards negotiations, Bishop’s postseason stats should be. Both Lehner’s and Vasilevskiy’s teams were taken from playoffs in under 10 games. Bish pulled the Stars through Hell to get them into Game 7 in the 2nd Round. Bishop finished playoffs with 13 games under his belt, with a 7-6-0 record. He had 30 goals against but a Save Percentage of .933 and a Goals Against Average of 2.22. The man single-handedly put the Stars on his back and carried them.
Bishop’s aggressive play on the ice speaks for itself. When he’s out there it’s like the Stars have another player on the ice because he plays the puck so well. The man has battled through countless injuries just to give his team a shot at the Cup.
Bish is a valuable part of the Stars and he deserves the recognition of this award. Miro has already been snubbed when it comes to the Calder but Bishop has the best chance at the Vezina!
#BishopforVezina
Featured Image: Scott Rovak/NHLI via Getty Images
