Dallas Stars: Ben Bishop Should Bounce Back In Big Way vs. Flyers
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars close out a four-game road trip tonight in Philadelphia. It will be up to starting goaltender Ben Bishop to shake off the rust after a week on the bench and provide the team a chance to end on a strong note.
It’s going to be a quick turnaround for the Dallas Stars and they better be ready to take it head-on.
The Stars arrived in Philadelphia late on Friday night after a long night in Newark, NJ. The Stars committed a mass of unnecessary penalties and looked sloppy in a 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils. It was the team’s first loss since last Saturday and ended a two-game winning streak.
Throughout that two-game streak, though, the Stars looked like a brand new and completely revitalized team. After losing three in a row to some of the league’s best talent last week, Dallas needed something to turn their misfortunes around.
As they entered this past week, they stared down a respectable four-game road trip to the Northeast. The New York Rangers, Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers were all included in the slate, making it one of the tougher road trips to bear.
Dallas Stars
All four teams are either on a hot streak as of late or are already sitting in a playoff spot (or both), and that put a lot on the Stars’ plate. Dallas was slipping out of the playoff picture quickly due to the standings being airtight and needed some kind of boost.
They certainly found that boost in New York on Monday and Wednesday. The Stars beat both the Rangers (2-1 in a shootout) and Islanders (5-2) behind the skilled goaltending of Kari Lehtonen and a consistent and dominant attack on all fronts.
All in all, the team looked like one capable of not only making the playoffs, but also making a run at the Cup. The talent on the roster mixed with the coaching capabilities behind the bench leaves a lot of promise to be seized by the 2017-18 Dallas Stars. The question is whether or not they will actually seize it.
They show flashes of brilliance, but have yet to put it on for more than a five-game span. The Dallas Stars can be a good team when they act like it. That doesn’t always happen, though. This is why they go from dominating in New York to crumbling in New Jersey in a matter of days.
But they have one more shot on this road trip, and it ends with a Flyers team that has won five games in a row.
Philadelphia endured a tough 0-5-5 struggle to close out November and start December, but have since turned things around. The Flyers have five wins under their belt over the last 12 days and will look to make it six against a Stars team that will hope to start yet another new streak.
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Whether the Stars emerge victorious against a high-flying Flyers squad will come down to one primary factor: the play of Ben Bishop. Now would be a perfect time for the Dallas Stars starter to start up a hot streak.
Bishop has not played in a game in one week, which just happens to be his longest sit time since joining the Stars. The starter took a break after a tough week between the pipes last week. While Bishop is 3-2-0 in his last five games, three of his save percentages fall below .900, including an .800 mark against Nashville that resulted in him getting pulled mid-game. Lehtonen then took over and started in three of the following four games.
The Big Finn made his mark, turning in two stellar performances against the Rangers and Islanders. But Friday night’s performance was a sudden step down.
So now it is Bishop’s turn to step back into the crease and attempt to help a tired Stars team close out the road trip with a win. The Dallas Stars will play their fourth game in six days tonight against the Flyers, so fatigue may very well be a factor. In addition to that, Philadelphia is known for being a fast team that attacks quickly.
Bishop will have to be on his A-game if the Stars are going to come away with a victory. And a victory is pretty essential.
The Stars may have won seven of their last ten games going into Friday night, but it’s not helping them much in the standings. That’s primarily because all of the teams around Dallas in the playoff hunt are winning at a consistent level as well. Last night’s loss to NJ actually bumped the Stars out of a playoff spot altogether.
So a win is pretty necessary. The last thing the Stars want to do is fall behind at this point in the season. The halfway mark is quickly creeping up and Dallas needs to be in good standing once it gets here.
This is the Stars’ last away game for a while, and Bishop has a great opportunity to not only boost his confidence back up, but also carry Dallas to a much-needed win. The Flyers are not going to make it easy for the Stars, and a lot of weight will likely land on Bishop’s shoulders.
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It’s the duty of a starting goalie to adapt on the fly, quickly regain their composure after a rough stretch, and give confidence to the team in front of them. Bishop needs a big bounce-back game and the Stars need a valuable two points before heading home. Tonight’s game gives him a great opportunity in the spotlight.
Will he take advantage of it?