Around a week ago we capped off our list of the top Winnipeg Jets prospects so I thought it would be a fun idea to countdown the list of the best goaltenders in the National Hockey League. So as we start out on the quest that is this list you may be wondering who is number 10? Well if you are you need to get your eyes checked because it says so right in the article’s title. At number ten we have Tampa Bay Lightening goaltender Ben Bishop!
So what did Ben Bishop do with the Lightening last season to warrant him holding the tenth spot on our countdown? Well, Bishop went to this thing called the Stanley Cup Finals last year (not sure if you heard) and produced an over 40 win season in the Lightening net.
Bishop played in 62 games last season with the Lightening and would go 40-13-5 with a 2.32 GAA and .916 save percentage. Bishop would finish 4th in wins by a goaltender during the 2014-2015 season, taking a spot in the top 10 on 1/4 major goaltending categories for 2014-2015. But it was not only his regular season stats that got him a spot on this list.
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In only his first season playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Bishop would help lead his team back to the Stanley Cup Finals. Bishop would play in 25 games during the Stanley Cup playoffs going 13-11-3 with a 2.18 GAA and .921 save percentage.
Bishop and the Lightening would defeat such goaltenders as Vezina winner Carey Price and New York Rangers powerhouse Henrik Lundqvist. Its not often that a young goaltender in his first playoff run bests the likes of goaltenders like Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist and when he does he deserves some praise.
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What made the run of Ben Bishop during the cup playoffs so outstanding is the fact that through it all he had been playing with a torn groin muscle. Props to Bishop for continuing to play with an injured groin at the most difficult time of the NHL season.
The NHL playoffs are all about going that extra distance in the face of adversity to lead your team to the ultimate stage in hockey. If it could be for only one thing that Bishop makes this list it would be for embodying the ideal NHL playoff performance that is all too lost in the NHL and sports as a whole today.
What do you guys think? Did Ben Bishop deserve the 10th spot on our list? Think someone else deserves the spot? Comment below and join in on the discussion!
More from Jets White Out
- How expansion and relocation around the league have affected the Winnipeg Jets
- 5 interesting Winnipeg Jets prospects to check out at the Young Stars Classic
- 3 takeaways from Adam Lowry being named captain
- What to think about Nikolaj Ehlers and his dynamic skill set?
- Winnipeg Jets name Adam Lowry team captain