Dallas Stars Starting Ben Bishop In His Return To Tampa Bay
By Josh Clark
Tonight, the struggling Dallas Stars will face off against arguably the best team in the NHL. They are set to go with their starter, Ben Bishop, in net, but this game will carry a different weight for no. 30. Will that be a good or bad thing?
Big Ben is back to his roots tonight, but this time he will be wearing Victory Green. The Dallas Stars are in Tampa tonight to face the Lightning, and there’s bound to be plenty of fireworks.
Tonight, Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop will face off with the team he build. The Tampa Bay Lightning, who currently own the best record in the NHL at 14-2-2, have been a powerhouse in the East for a few years now. Besides missing the playoffs last year, the Bolts spent three straight years as one of the top teams in the East. They still are.
In 2013-14, they lost in the first round of the playoffs after finishing second in their division. In 2014-15, the team dropped to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final. And in 2015-16, they fell one win short of reaching the Cup to the eventual champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ben Bishop was the starting goalie for all of it. He carried the load for the Tampa Bay crease, starting in at least 60 games in each of the three seasons.
Dallas Stars
In other words, he helped build the franchise by providing an elite presence in net. That’s why he’s so well-loved in the bay area.
Now he’s going in as the enemy and will attempt to lead a Dallas Stars team struggling to find its identity to victory. Dallas is up against the best team in the league to close out a three-game road trip and are in search of their first win since last Friday.
The only problem is that the Stars are on a two-game skid and Bishop has lost three of his past four games. In each of the three losses, he’s posted a sub-.900 save percentage. He’s hit a bit of a bump after starting out the year so powerfully and needs to get back on track.
Will he be able to right the ship in Tampa? This will be his first return to Amalie Arena since being traded to Los Angeles in February 2017. That being said, there will likely be plenty of emotions. It may not be the best idea considering the Stars are in desperate need of a win.
But there may be a chance for the Stars to make this into a storybook game. The storyline with Bishop returning is enough to make it a fun game, but it also has to do with the team’s standings.
The Lightning are the best team in the league right now. Dallas, on the other hand, is stuck in mediocrity and needs a defining win that will jumpstart a streak. They can do just that against Tampa Bay.
If Bishop can lock in and turn in a solid performance while keeping the emotions in check, the Stars have a solid shot at winning this game. Dallas has seen impressive success against the Bolts over the past few seasons. They proved on Tuesday that they can skate with strength and control a game (though they didn’t come out with the win). If they can bring that same intensity on the ice, the Stars should put up a good fight.
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But it all comes down to how Ben Bishop responds. It’s his first time back “home” against the very giant he helped start.
Big Ben is back home. Puck drop is at 6:30 p.m. Which side wants the homecoming game more?