Dallas Stars News: Ben Bishop Finishes Second In Vezina Trophy Race

Ben Bishop came closer than any Dallas Stars goaltender ever has to winning the Vezina Trophy. But even after turning in a career year and leading the Stars back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he fell just short of winning the honor for the 2018-19 season.

Ben Bishop turned in a stellar 2018-19 campaign in the Dallas Stars crease. That much is true.

It was an impressive year for the goaltender that was highlighted by setting franchise records, serving as the backbone for the team during a mediocre start to the season, and helping lead the club to its first Stanley Cup Playoffs berth since 2016. Not only that, but he also helped boost the team to the second round of the postseason before eventually falling short in double overtime of Game 7.

All of these things are true. The 32-year-old posted the best numbers of his 10-year NHL career and was electric throughout the season and especially down the stretch as the Stars closed in on a playoff berth.

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And by the time Game 5 of their first round series against the Nashville Predators rolled around, a long-standing suspicion of the goaltender’s performance was confirmed when Bishop was named a finalist for the 2018-19 Vezina Trophy alongside Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Robin Lehner (New York Islanders).

The three were among the league leaders in the top goaltending statistical categories and helped their team accomplish great feats during the regular season. As a result, they finished in the top three spots for the trophy, which is voted on each year by the 31 NHL general managers.

For Bishop, it was another chance at winning after two previous occasions of being named a finalist and falling short in the voting (both while being a member of the Lightning). For the Stars, it was the closest that the franchise had come to winning the award since Marty Turco was named a finalist in the 2002-03 season and finished second in the race.

Bishop’s case seemed to be as strong as it had ever been. He led the league in save percentage (.934) and finished second in goals against average (1.98) while also posting a 27-15-2 record and seven shutouts. He was named an NHL Star of the Week twice during the regular season, set the new franchise consecutive shutout streak record for the Dallas Stars, and led the team on an impressive run through the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

And had the award included playoff performance and the general managers have voted following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final, Bishop might have come away with a victory. But the Vezina Trophy is a regular season award and only includes the 82-game campaign.

As a result, Bishop fell just short in the Vezina race as Andrei Vasilevskiy was awarded the trophy at the 2019 NHL Awards in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.

While the Dallas Stars starter ended up getting more points in the voting than Turco (who got 59) and finished higher than he ever has in the Vezina voting (32 points in 2014, 51 points in 2016), he still fell surprisingly short of the first place spot. Here’s a look at the final vote tally.

As you can see, Bishop ended up receiving just two first place votes from NHL general managers and was confined mostly to the second place vote. The 82-point spread separating Bishop from Vasilevskiy is the second-highest deficit of his three Vezina finalist campaigns, with the 89-point deficit separating him from Braden Holtby serving as the largest split.

There’s an intriguing debate to be had with the results. While Bishop was first among the three finalists in most of the important goaltending stats (save percentage, goals against average, shutouts), Vasilevskiy led the league with a record of 39-10-4. He played more games than both Bishop and Lehner and took on the “workhorse” title, which is what GMs typically favor over stats.

So, after months of comparing the three and both fans and analysts playing the debate game, Bishop once again finds himself coming up just short in the running for the top goaltending trophy.

But that by no means diminishes his 2018-19 performance or how much of a factor he was for the Dallas Stars. And with that being said, the 2019-20 season provides a chance for the goalie to take another step forward and further both the team’s potential and his own standing in the Vezina running.

.934 SV%, 1.98 GAA, 7 SO.