Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock announced that Ben Bishop, who left last nights game against the Winnipeg Jets in the first period, would be re-evaluated in two weeks. The team is calling it a lower-body injury.
Ken Hitchcock on Ben Bishop, who left the game tonight in the 1st: “We will re-evaluate him in 2 weeks…then we’ll see where we go from there”
— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) March 19, 2018
Dallas Stars Goaltender Ben Bishop Out at Least Two Weeks
Bishop was in obvious discomfort immediately after making a beautiful save off a one-timer from Bryan Little. Bishop was holding his left leg, the same one he had injured against the Ottawa Senators on March 5th. He only returned to action on Friday night, only to re-aggravate the injury two nights later. Hitchcock says “They will re-evaluate Bishop in two weeks, and then see where they will go from there.”
Ben Bishop has been having himself a decent season. He has a record of 26-17-5, with a goals against average of 2.49 and a save percentage of .916. He also has five shutouts.
What This Means for the Stars
Unfortunately for the Stars, the injury could not have come at a worse time. Tied for the final wild-card position in the west with the Los Angeles Kings, who have a game in hand. Kari Lehtonen will once again take over the Stars crease with Bishop sidelined. His recent stint as a starter didn’t go well, as the Stars went 1-3-1 over that span. Lehtonen holds a record of 12-10-3 with a 2.46 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.
With only nine games remaining in the regular season, the playoff push is on for the Dallas Stars. While Lehtonen is a quality goalie, consistency has always been an issue for him. His play down the stretch could very well make or break the Dallas Stars season.
