Struggles And Success Lead To Big Dallas Stars Goaltending Question
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars experienced an early struggle against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night that almost pinned their first loss on them in over a week.
The Stars looked dismembered, unmotivated, and overall sloppy in the first 39 minutes of the game. They found themselves in a 5-2 hole with little hope of getting out, but they managed and prevailed in a 6-5 shootout for their fourth straight win as they continue to rise from the bottom of the standings.
The early hole built was due to the Dallas Stars lack of effort on defense and the subpar performance from starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen. Lehtonen, who performed great in the three games leading up to the Edmonton game, gave away four goals off of 19 shots taken in less than 30 minutes of ice time. After wins against New Jersey, Vancouver, and Calgary, where he averaged 1.33 goals given up per game, he looked like a sixth straight start was too much. Lehtonen was removed from the crease with 10:41 left in the second period, making way for backup goaltender Anders Lindback. Lindback only gave away one goal after Taylor Hall found a breakaway, but stood tall for the rest of the game. He stopped Anton Lander in the eighth round of the shootout, gaining his first win as a Dallas Star, and finishing the night with a .900 save percentage.
“It was awesome (to see Lindback get the win). He’s one of the hardest working backups I’ve been around. For him to stand tall and help us win that game in the shootout, I think it is great for him.”
Lindback had not played a game for the Dallas Stars since November 29 when he was handed his fifth straight loss from the Colorado Avalanche, dropping his record to 0-5-0 and sequentially leading to the Dallas Stars sending him down to the AHL so he could attempt to gain some confidence and turn his game around. He was called back up on December 14th, and head coach Lindy Ruff said that he would see his first start in one of the Stars two upcoming games, being against the Vancouver Canucks or the Calgary Flames. After Kari Lehtonen dazzled in the Dallas Stars 2-0 win against the Canucks and returned the favor when they beat the Flames 2-1, it was unsure if Lindback would even play before the end of 2014.
After Lehtonen struggled to keep the puck out unlike he had been over the prior week, Lindback came in cold in the middle of the game and shocked a lot of doubtful Dallas Stars fans. Lindback had a very impressive showing in the AHL with the Texas Stars, going 3-2-0 with a save percentage of .946 and a 1.59 goals against average, but many Stars fans still felt uncomfortable whenever he entered the game. He proved his worth when the Dallas Stars needed him most and managed in eight rounds of a shootout, relieving many worries.
The performances from these two players leaves an interesting question to be answered regarding the Stars final matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night before the Christmas break. That question is which goaltender is going to be blessed with the start.
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The Maple Leafs have struggled over their past three games, going 0-3-0 and giving up an average of five goals per game. They will come into Dallas looking to turn things around, while the Stars will look to do the opposite and keep their streak alive.
The Stars were off today and did not meet for practice, which means that the starting goaltender will not be known until tomorrow morning at the morning skate. There is a good chance it could be Kari Lehtonen to help clear his conscience and give him a chance to redeem himself, but with Anders Lindback’s masterful performance and a chance to play a struggling team, the chance for either goalie to start seems dead knotted.
It would be nice to see if Lindback can scrap a win in a full, 60-minute contest, but we’ll have to wait and see. We’ll let you know in the morning!
Leave your comments and questions below, and as always, thanks for reading! Go Stars.