Elliot Beats out Bishop for the Backup spot

Brian Elliott Col @ Van, 16-Mar-2011 by Mafue

By ANDREW ALLSMAN

ALHAMBRA, IL--  Yesterday the Blues announced that Ben Bishop had been sent down to Peoria, and Brian Elliot is Halak's backup.  It had to be an incredibly difficult decision for management, as both goalies evenly matched the other one's performance, but in the end the Blues went with experience.

Why we could be seeing Bishop in the NHL this year

Bishop is determined to get his chance to play in the NHL full time, as proven by his stats in the pre-season where he went 2-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .907 sv%, which practically matched Elliot's.

"I was definitely shocked," said Bishop, ''I wasn't very happy with the decision, but you've got to respect the decision. They're obviously your bosses. They tell you what to do. You might not agree with it, but you've just got to take it and use it down in Peoria and play well and hopefully be up here soon."

Bishop's disappointment is completely understandable, after doing all he could to get the job, he was sent down.

"I felt almost 100 percent positive that I thought I was going to be up here. I felt real happy with the way I came into camp, the shape I came in and the games I played and the practices. I had the faith in the guys in the locker room and I think they had the faith in me.

If Elliot struggles, the Blues wont hesitate to replace him with Bishop, as they both have 2-way contracts.  Elliot is hoping to rebound this season in  a role that he's admitted hes more comfortable in (backup goalie).

Should this move come as a surprise?

No, obviously Doug Armstrong is very high-strung on veteran presence, as he showed by signing Arnott, Nichol, Langenbrunner, and I think everyone knew if it was evenly matched, Elliot would get the job because of experience.  In the end I like keeping Elliot over Bishop, but Bishop earned his spot and I think we can all agree that we will see Bishop this season.




Quotes taken from STLtoday article link

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