As the 2020 Winter Classic is just a few short days away, Dallas Stars starting goaltender Ben Bishop ended off his calendar year with a big win. Bishop played his last game of 2019 on Saturday night as his Dallas Stars played host on Hockey Night to Cale Makar and the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche, who currently hold the second-place spot in the Central Division, have been one of the most exciting and feared organizations in the NHL this season.
Nathan MacKinnon has led the way for Colorado so far this season and has been helped by Cale Makar, their rookie sensation and a product of UMass. Ben Bishop would get the start against a team who over their last four games had only won once heading into their matchup on Saturday night against the Stars in Dallas. The Stars pounced on the slumping Avalanche, winning the game in a shootout with Bishop serving as the shining star.
Tyler Seguin struck first for Dallas, just over a minute into the game. It took almost the entire period before anyone else would get on the scoreboard, but Colorado was able to tie it up just over a minute before the first period expired. Colorado would score again for the lone goal of the second period to take the lead. The Stars would not give up in the third and their hard work paid off when Denis Gurianov sniped one past Philipp Grubauer to tie the game at two.
Gurianov’s game-tying goal would send the game knotted up to overtime where Dallas would do everything they could to win the game and send the Avs home packing. The Stars had seven shots in overtime compared to Colorado’s lone shot on goal. Despite Dallas’ efforts in extra-time, they were not able to avoid going to a shootout.
Joe Pavelski would start off the shootout with a goal for the Dallas Stars as Ben Bishop stopped both Nathan MacKinnon and Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen. Alexander Radulov would get his team’s second goal of the shootout to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 victory. Bishop blanked Colorado’s top stars, ending his night and year off with a big win on home ice.
Goaltending was the highlight of the game as both Ben Bishop and Philipp Grubauer were fantastic for their respective teams. Bishop had struggled over his previous two starts, leading some to think that he may not get the starting nod for the Stars Winter Classic matchup against Nashville. However, after a fantastic performance against the Avalanche in which Bishop stopped 41 of 43 shots, it is safe to say that on New Years Day, you can expect to see Ben Bishop between the pipes at Cotton Bowl Stadium.
Bishop put on a show the entire night at American Airlines Travel Center. His best performance came during the second period which saw the Dallas Stars netminder save 18 of the 19 shots he faced. The third period was no easier for Bishop as he stopped another 15 shots from Colorado who were firing on all cylinders.
Bishop was tested all game long and was forced to make some big saves. He came in clutch when it mattered most, including during a tough 5-3 power play for Colorado. Bishop is expected to get Sunday night off in Arizona against the Coyotes as he gets some rest ahead of the NHL’s first game of 2020.