Ben Bishop entered Monday night as the starter for the Dallas Stars matchup against the Ottawa Senators. He would suffer a lower-body injury during the first period. While finishing the period, Bishop would not return after that as he was replaced by Kari Lehtonen.
Bishop seemed to suffer the injury when teammate Dan Hamhuis collided with him. Hamhuis was pushed into his goaltender after being stick checked by Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Bishop would briefly meet with the trainers before staying in the game for the remainder of the period.
Hamhuis gets stick checked back into Bishop by Pageau and falls onto him. Bishop stays in the game. pic.twitter.com/YDMURXPW7r
— Dylan Nadwodny (@dnadders) March 6, 2018
Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock addressed the injury after the team’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Senators. The timetable Hitchcock gave ruled Bishop out for the team’s next two games.
Ken Hitchcock on Ben Bishop injury:, "With Ben, we’re probably going to need a couple of days to figure out time frame on it so for sure. He’s not going to play tomorrow and Friday and then let’s just see from there."
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) March 6, 2018
Ben Bishop Out For Next Two Games
This is not the first time Bishop has been injured this season. During his season debut against the Vegas Golden Knights, Bishop was hit in the mask on a shot from Reilly Smith. He suffered a cut on his head and had to go into the concussion protocol program. While returning to the bench, he was not allowed to return to the game.
Bishop missed one game after taking a puck to the face while sitting as the backup against the Arizona Coyotes. While he did not suffer any fractures or a concussion, he did have some swelling on the side of his face.
On the season Bishop holds a 26-17-4 record, along with a 2.51 GAA and a .916 SV%. He also has five shutouts on the season, one off tying his career high set back in the 2015-16 season.
The Stars will be looking towards Lehtonen for their next two games. The team plays at the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and is home against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. In 23 games this season, Lehtonen holds a 17-11-6 record. His current 2.37 GAA is his best since the 2011-12 season.
With the team holding on to the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, the Stars will be hoping that Bishop is not out beyond the next two games.
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