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Bishop Announced As Vezina Finalist

The Dallas Stars announced during Game 5 today that Ben Bishop is one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy. The award is given to the goaltender voted best at his position during the regular season, and the winner will be announced at the 2019 NHL Awards on June 19 in Las Vegas.

Bishop finished the 2018-19 regular season with a record of 27-15-2 in 46 games played. He was first in the league for save percentage, with an impressive .934 as he allowed only 87 goals in 46 games. That low goal count put Bishop second for goals-allowed average at 1.89. Bishop’s 1.89 GAA was a new career best for the 32-year-old Dallas netminder. In addition to that, Bishop ranked third for shutouts with seven through the season.

During March 2 through 19, Bishop also set a career high for a shutout streak, which lasted 233:04. During that time, he faced 113 shots and earned wins for each of the five games during the streak. Bishop is the third netminder in Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars history to have a shutout in three straight appearances, joining Cesar Maniago (December 13-16, 1967) and Ed Belfour.

Bishop’s shutout streak was also a new franchise record, as it passed Ed Belfour’s 219:34 record from November 15-29, 2000. Not only did Bishop set a new franchise record, he also recorded the longest shutout streak in the NHL since Martin Jones of the San Jose Sharks in the 2015-16 season (243:33). Bishop’s record of 233:04 is also the 24th longest in NHL history.

Bishop’s performance in net through February and March were a large part of the Stars’ final push for the playoffs. His 11-3-0 record in his last 15 starts helped Dallas secure their first playoff berth in three years.

Robin Lehner of the New York Islanders and Andre Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning were announced as the other two finalists for the Vezina Trohpy. You can read about their regular season statistics and the trophy details here.

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