Lightning's Bishop: Smaller goalie equipment won't change anything
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop believes that if the NHL wants to see more goals there is only one real solution.
While the league continues to shrink the size of goalie equipment with an eye towards increased goal scoring, Bishop believes smaller goalie equipment won't change anything and that the only way to truly see a change is to increase the size of the nets.
Bishop and some of the other netminders attending this weekend's NHL All-Star Game had the opportunity to check out a prototype of some newly resized pads and didn't notice much of a difference to what is currently being used.
"It's more about contouring. Not too much different," Bishop said, according to Sports Illustrated's Alex Prewitt.
Cory Schneider on the new goalie equipment they saw: "I wouldn't say it was anything too significant, but a step in the right direction."
— Alex Prewitt (@alex_prewitt) January 29, 2016
The league average save percentage this season is .917, the highest mark since the stat began being recorded. Meanwhile, this season's 2.63 goals per game is the lowest mark since the 2003-04 season.