United States would be crazy not to take Ben Bishop to 2014 Winter Olympics
The United States would have to be insane to not take Ben Bishop to Sochi when they compete in the 2014 Winter Games. He’s been outstanding this season for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but you wouldn’t know it based on the coverage he’s getting. Two different NHL.com writers unveiled their projected roster for the U.S. today, and neither of them included Bishop on their list.
Dan Rosen’s final three goalies were Ryan Miller, Jonathan Quick and Cory Schneider. In that order. Meanwhile Corey Masisak had the same final three, but projected Quick starting over Miller.
While it’s tough to deny Quick a roster spot, the inclusion of Miller and Schneider over Bishop is asinine and is the dreaded “east cost basis” at its worst. Schneider hasn’t been able to wrestle the No. 1 job away from Martin Brodeur in New Jersey, yet he should be the second or third guy in Sochi?
Through 10 contests his stats are strong, but he’s clearly been playing second fiddle to Brodeur for the Devils. When Schneider has been in goal he’s gone 2-5-3. Meanwhile, Bishop has a stellar 14-3-1 record. He has a 2.08 GAA as the bona fide No. 1 guy in Tampa, and has been leaned on heavily since the Steven Stamkos injury.
It’s tough to know what Miller is truly capable of at this point because of how bad the Buffalo Sabres have been. His GAA is over 3, but he’s been absolutely shelled on a nightly basis. He’s seen more than 120 more shots than Bishop while the Sabres have managed to tank this year.
Still, the fact is that Bishop has been winning this season and Miller hasn’t. Bishop has been the legit No. 1 guy for his team all year long and Schneider hasn’t. Bishop has been healthy and started in 19 games, but Quick hasn’t.
How many more games does the guy have to win before he garners consideration to be one of the three? How low does his GAA have so sink? How many shutouts does he need to pitch to finally get some attention? That Rosen and Masisak think that Bishop is in the same category as Tim Thomas is irrational and uninformed and it’s unfortunate that Bishop would have to play for Boston or New York to get some attention.