Ben Bishop is a Vezina Trophy finalist, and on Friday he showed why.
The Dallas Stars goaltender had a near-perfect night in Game 5 against the St. Louis Blues, stopping 38 shots to lead his team to a 2-1 victory.
In what has been a roller-coaster of a second-round series, the 32-year-old Bishop could prove to be the difference. He played at an elite level in the regular season (a 1.98 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage over 46 regular-season games), and he has continued his stellar form in the postseason.
Friday's contest was an example of how crucial Bishop is to the Stars' Stanley Cup hopes. He was able to keep the surging Blues at bay despite St. Louis holding a 39-27 shot advantage.
Bishop did show that he is human with an uncharacteristic giveaway in the third period that gave the Blues hope. Bishop dished the puck to his right after a routine shoot-in by St. Louis in anticipation of a teammate taking it up ice, but the closest player was Blues forward Jaden Schwartz.
Schwartz promptly rifled the puck over a scrambling Bishop, giving the Blues a late-game boost.
Predictably, the Blues poured on the offense in the closing minutes, but Bishop made up for his blunder by standing tall and coming up with a massive kick save on Oskar Sundqvist to prevent overtime.
BIG BEN BISHOP. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/o6u759ROnh
— NHL (@NHL) May 4, 2019
Friday's win gives the Stars a 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6, which will be played in Dallas on Sunday.