The Dallas Stars emphatically defended goalie Ben Bishop, whose disastrous first period led to a 6-3 win for the Colorado Avalanche as they avoided elimination in Game 5 on Monday night in Edmonton.
Bishop, the team's starting goaltender in the regular season, made his first start in 18 days for the Stars after having been unfit to play since Game 2 of their quarterfinal series against Calgary. He replaced Anton Khudobin, who had won six of his last seven starts, including Game 4 on Sunday night.
What was supposed to be a night off for Khudobin saw him enter the game in the first period, after Bishop gave up four goals on 19 shots in just 13:43 of ice time before he was pulled.