In his last five starts, Ben Bishop hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a single game, stopping 128 of 136 shots for a .941 save percentage.
Yet over that stretch, he’s 0-5.
Yeah.
“He’s done a hell of a job for us,” Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said, per the Tribune. “Look at how well he’s playing right now. It’s phenomenal that he hasn’t won in his last [five] starts.”
Cooper’s right. Bishop -- a Vezina Finalist two years ago that backstopped the Bolts to last year’s Stanley Cup Final -- could very well be playing the best hockey of his career.
He’s just not getting any run support.
The Lightning’s offensive woes have been well-documented. They head into Tuesday’s action ranked 22nd in the NHL at 2.4 goals per game -- a pretty massive step back from last year, when they finished with the league’s most prolific offense.
Bishop’s also been a busy guy.
Andrei Vasilevskiy’s blood clot issues kept him sidelined for most of the opening month of the season which, in turn, has seen Bishop shoulder the league’s second-heaviest load so far.
Only Vancouver’s Ryan Miller has played more.
As a result, Bishop’s already been tagged with seven losses this season, one off the NHL “lead” (currently held by Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky).
And Cooper knows it isn’t fair.
"[Bishop’s] got as sparkling statistics as he’s ever had in his NHL career,” he explained. “Feeling for the kid.”