Dallas Stars Goalies: Start Them Until They Drop

The Dallas Stars began a new endeavor on June 27th, 2015 when they traded a seventh round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for goaltender Antti Niemi.

Niemi was four days away from becoming an unrestricted free agent and the Stars needed to offer him a new deal. They did not waste any time either, and two days later the 32-year old signed with Dallas on a three year deal worth $13.5 million.

This worried some fans as the Stars were locking over $10 million in the crease for the next few years. They also worried about how fundamentally sound the Stars crease would be with Niemi and Kari Lehtonen sharing time. Both goaltenders had been the primary starters the past five years with their teams, and splitting time could have proven to be detrimental.

Instead, the Dallas Stars are flourishing as the best team in the Western Conference, and a good part of their success is due to their goaltending. Both Niemi and Lehtonen are putting together strong starts and proving that GM Jim Nill had a beneficial idea back in the offseason.

Through 14 games this year, the Stars own the second best record in the league at 11-3-0. Niemi and Lehtonen have done well with splitting time in the crease. Niemi is 6-2-0 with a save percentage of .908 and a goals against average of 2.77. Lehtonen, on the other hand, is 5-1-0 with a .917 save percentage and 2.63 goals against average.

Both goaltenders are putting on shows, but their schedules are rather jumbled.

The Dallas Stars do not seem to be sticking with any certain schedule for which goalie starts in a certain game. Instead, it looks as though they are deferring to the goalie on a winning streak. With only three losses, there have been a few different winning streaks the Stars have ridden. This strategy definitely seems to be working so far.

At the beginning of the year, head coach Lindy Ruff made a surprising call when he decided to start newcomer Niemi on opening night, instead of Lehtonen who had started the past five years. But Ruff’s decision would prove to be wise as Niemi completed a 37-save shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Niemi would get the call to the crease once again for the Stars second game, but would not find the same success. Instead, Niemi had six goals tacked on him against the Colorado Avalanche.

This would give way to longtime Star Kari Lehtonen starting his first game of the season in game three against the Edmonton Oilers. Lehtonen would play an excellent game to kick off his 2015-2016 year, stopping 26 of 28 and helping the Stars to a 4-2 win at home. Lehtonen would win the next two games, starting the year off with a record of 3-0-0. Though he had a hot streak, the Stars still went back to Niemi after this.

Niemi would win his next two games and begin a hot streak. The Stars decided to take him out as they had with Lehtonen and go with #32 for the Stars next game. Lehtonen would hiccup and falter early by giving up three goals on 11 shots against the Florida Panthers. Niemi would come in and attempt to stop the bleeding, but ended up sacrificing three of his own.

Antti Niemi was award the next four starts after Lehtonen’s ugly showing. He would win the first three and get the Stars revving again after the loss to Florida, capping October off with a victory against his former team.

More from Blackout Dallas

• Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
• Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
• Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
• Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
• Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs

November began and the Dallas Stars hit the road to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Niemi was slated to start, but could not keep the streak alive and sacrificed four goals in a brutal 4-1 loss. Needless to say, Lehtonen was called upon after over a week of rest and played the next night in Boston. He came in clutch, stopping 36 of 39 and leading the Stars to a 5-3 victory.

Ruff gave him his second straight start Friday night against the Hurricanes, where he would narrowly miss a shutout bid, rejecting 30 of 31. In practice Saturday morning, Niemi worked late meaning he will most likely be the scratch Sunday and Kari Lehtonen will start his third straight game in Detroit, looking to keep his winning streak alive against the Red Wings.

It is clear that the two-goalie tandem is paying off in multiple ways. Not only is it giving the other goalie time to rest, but it is also challenging each goalie to play their best. After Lehtonen was pulled on October 24th for letting three early ones get away from him, he did not play until November 3rd. Same goes for Niemi who only stopped 22 of 26 in Toronto.

Ruff is proving to each both that starting is not a privilege and must be earned. As a result, the Dallas Stars are thriving and each goalie is learning how to be stronger and more consistent. One slip-up and it could be back to the bench for however long.

Next: Stars Bust Game Open In Third Period, Ravage Hurricanes 4-1 - Post-Game Thoughts

The Dallas Stars take on the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. CST from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Kari Lehtonen will continue in his role as the last line of defense and look to help the Stars find their first win against the Red Wings since November 7, 2013. Coincidentally enough, today is the two year anniversary of that overtime victory. Let’s hope there are similar results tomorrow.