Bishop, Stars turn it around
ST. LOUIS — Dallas goalie Ben Bishop rebounded — at his hometown team’s expense.
Bishop made 32 saves, Roope Hintz scored twice and the Stars beat the Blues 4-2 in Game 2 to even the Western Conference semifinal series.
Bishop grew up in St. Louis and often attended Blues games. He recalled chanting Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ed Belfour’s name as a teenager in the stands. St. Louis fans did the same thing to Bishop on Saturday, screaming his name to try and throw him off his game.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Bishop said. “I was that kid screaming Belfour’s name and then you’re on the ice and they’re screaming your name. Never in a million years when I was watching playoff games as a kid here (did I think) that I’d be in the net against the Blues. Obviously, it’s kind of cool.”
Miro Heiskanen and Mattias Janmark also scored for the Stars.
Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko scored for St. Louis, and Jordan Binnington made 31 saves. The Blues had won three straight.
Bishop bounced back after allowing three goals on 20 shots in a 3-2 loss in Game 1 Thursday night.
“It’s a long season, there’s going to be shots you want to have back,” Bishop said. “Every game is a new game.”
Dallas scored three times in the opening 14:51 before Bishop took over. Hintz, who added an empty-net-net goal with 3 seconds left, converted on a pass from Mats Zuccarello at 7:11. Heiskanen scored on a give-and-go with Hintz just over six minutes later.
The Blues answered 46 seconds later on Parayko’s drive from the top of the circle.
Dallas needed just 26 seconds to restore the two-goal lead, with Janmark scoring off Jason Dickinson’s pass.
Schwartz tipped in a shot from Parayko just 1:48 into the third. Schwartz has a team-high five goals in the first two rounds.
Bishop improved to 11-3 when coming off a loss in the playoffs.
“I’ve been pulled, I’ve given up six (goals), it happens,” Bishop said. “That’s the cool thing about the playoffs. You forget and move on.”