May 2, 2015
Post 2 Post: Top marks to Bishop
Each night during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennan provides his Post 2 Post rankings for every goaltender in action. Each goaltender will receive a score out of five based on their performance. On Friday night, Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop stole the show.
Each night during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennan provides his Post 2 Post rankings for every goaltender in action. Each goaltender will receive a score out of five based on their performance.
Blackhawks 4, Wild 3
Corey Crawford -3 - Crawford was very sharp early in the game, making a good glove save on Mikael Granlund and was sharp on Zach Parise, as well. He had a tough second period where the Granlund goal was a short-side chip shot that was not good. Crawford locked it down in third period, though, when Minny made a big push with big saves on Mikko Koivu and Nino Neiderreiter to preserve the win.
Devyn Dubnyk - 2 - The game-winning goal was a bad goal from the side boards that eluded Dubnyk's glove with a minute left in the second, just when the Wild had fought back from a 3-0 deficit. The start was not good for Dubnyk, as Brandon Saad scored a short-side goal on the very first shot of the series. He settled in and made a few good saves, including one great save on Patrick Sharp halfway through the second that I thought was a turning point in the comeback for the Wild, but that fourth goal and eventual winner was a backbreaker that hurt them.
Lightning 2, Canadiens 1 (2OT)
Ben Bishop - 5 - This was a goaltenders' duel. Bishop was outstanding. Yeah, he gave up a softie to Patches, but Bishop made up for it tenfold with huge saves on the aforementioned Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, Torrey Mitchell and Tomas Plekanec. Bishop carried his Game 7 momentum forward from two days ago. He was in control more in his net, played a deeper game on tips from Gallagher in the second and was sharp on in tight jam plays, as well. Bishop got some help from posts early in the game, but he didn't need much luck as game wore on.
Carey Price - 4 - He was sharp early in game on Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson and Price continued his control game as it went on. He had no chance on the Johnson goal. Price was good on post plays by Alex Killorn and Brian Boyle. Strong positional play on the Ryan Callahan two-on-one and good, aggressive pushes on Andrej Sustr and Victor Hedman's clear shots helped keep Price's team in the game. On the game-winning goal, he’s a bit deep as it turns over quick and Nikita Kucherov releases it before he gets completely set.