Stars goaltender Ben Bishop named finalist for Vezina Trophy

FRISCO, Texas --Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop was named one of the three finalists for the 2018-19 Vezina Trophy, awarded "to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position," the National Hockey League announced today. The general managers of the NHL's 31 clubs submitted ballots for the Vezina Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.
The winner will be revealed Wednesday, June 19, during the 2019 NHL Awards™ presented by Bridgestone at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Over his final 15 games of the season, he earned an 11-3-0 record with a .962 save percentage, a 1.15 GAA and six shutouts to help the team clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.

The native of Denver, Colo. finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 27-15-2 record with a 1.98 GAA and a .934 SV% in 46 appearances. Bishop led the NHL, established a new career-high and set a franchise record with a .934 SV%. His .934 SV% was the highest in the NHL since Craig Anderson's .941 in 2012-13 and the ninth-best mark in NHL history. The netminder finished second in the League and also logged a new career best with a 1.98 GAA, while establishing a new career-high and finished third in the NHL with seven shutouts.
During the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he has posted a 2-2 record in four appearances with a .942 SV% and a 1.98 GAA. Among all NHL goaltenders in the postseason, he ranks second in SV% (.942) and third in GAA (1.98).
On two occasions this season, Bishop was named one of the NHL's Three Stars of the Week. He was named NHL's Third Star for the week ending Oct. 7 after posting a 2-0-0 record and stopping 62 of the 63 shots he faced for a 0.50 GAA and a .984 SV% in two games. The goaltender was also named the NHL's Second Star for the week ending March 10 after posting a 2-0-0 record and stopping all 59 shots he faced in two consecutive shutouts.
Bishop, 32, established a new career high with a 233:04 shutout streak from March 2 - 19. He allowed a goal at the 15:40 mark of the second period against St. Louis on March 2 and went on to stop the next 113 shots he faced before allowing a goal 2:11 into the first period against Florida on March 19, earning wins in each of the five games the streak spanned.

The netminder's 233:04-long streak without allowing a goal became the longest such streak in franchise history, surpassing Ed Belfour's previous record of 219:34, which he established from Nov. 15 - 29, 2000. Bishop's streak also marked the longest by an NHL goaltender since the 2015-16 campaign when San Jose's Martin Jones logged a shutout streak of 234:33 from Oct. 7 - 16, while his mark of 233:04 becomes the 24th-longest in NHL history.
During his shutout streak, the netminder logged three consecutive shutouts from March 5 - 12. Bishop became just the third goaltender in franchise history to record a shutout in three-straight appearances, joining Cesare Maniago (Dec. 13 - 16, 1967) and Ed Belfour (Nov. 17 - 24, 2000).
Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Robin Lehner of the New York Islanders were also selected as finalists for the 2018-19 Vezina Trophy.