Dallas Stars Goaltenders: Which Finn Has Impressed More

The New York Rangers scored the game-winning goal with 54 seconds left in the third period last night to seal a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As the Rangers gained two points in their 18th game of the season, they officially took sole control of first place in the NHL. This eliminated the three-way tie between the Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and Dallas Stars.

The Stars now sit in second place in the NHL standings and they probably aren’t bitter about it. After an electrifying start projected by almost no one, the Stars are 14-4-0 with 28 points. This is the best start in their franchise history through 18 games. They have strung together a two-game interdivisional winning streak and sit atop the Western Conference with the next closest team five points away.

There are plenty of different factors that have contributed to the Dallas Stars’ excellent start.

The offense is back for a second round of havoc after tearing it up last year and ending the season with the second most goals scored throughout the league. Only this time, they have added the services of Patrick Sharp and rookies such as Mattias Janmark and Radek Faksa (who was sent down Sunday morning to make space for Patrick Eaves in his return from IR).

The Stars have also tightened things up at home. This season, they are 7-2-0 at the American Airlines Center. When you compare that to 17-16-8 from last season, there is signs of significant turnaround. They are also outscoring opponents 25-15 in the third period, which proves they are sticking around until the end unlike last year.

But the defense and goaltending continue to be the Dallas Stars focus for improvement. While they have seen upgrades from last year, there are still a few tweaks here and there that could only benefit them going forward.

But the goaltending in general has been primarily consistent. The Stars spent the offseason formulating a new way of building a crease. Instead of the regular theory which involved keeping a starter and slightly less-skilled backup on the roster, the Stars threw caution to the wind and signed veteran starter Antti Niemi to play alongside veteran starter Kari Lehtonen.

So far, the plan has worked for them and the team is benefitting from both goaltender’s play. Back in training camp, it was assumed by many that Niemi would barge in and take the starting spot from Lehtonen who had experienced a severe drop-off in his play in 2014-2015.

Niemi started the opening night game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and played nothing short of perfect. He ended it with a 37-save shutout victory and the support of the Dallas Stars fan base. Niemi has struggled a bit in recent games where the Stars front five have not performed excellently either, but his statistics and play are still impressive. Niemi is 6-3-0 this season with a .907 save percentage and a 2.80 goals against average.

Lehtonen, on the other hand, is soaring to the hottest start of his career. After not being given his first start of the year until game three, Lehtonen made the most of it with a victory over the Edmonton Oilers. He has impressed with his show-stopping saves and has accumulated some noteworthy statistics. Up to this point in the year, Lehtonen is 8-1-0 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average.

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It is interesting that the two goalies have been playing so well and shown very little signs of weakness so far. Niemi’s only weak point seems to be that he could not figure out how to stop the Toronto Maple Leafs in either of his starts against them. Lehtonen has only shown one spot of weakness when he had to be pulled from a game against the Florida Panthers after allowing three early goals.

But besides that, both goalies have been consistent and have played the way the Stars need them to. The question is, which one has played better?

While both are playing at a very respectable level and giving the Stars plenty to work with, it is entertaining to see which goalie the fans think has been hotter so far. Vote below on who you think the Dallas Stars hottest goalie has been up to this point in the season. Apologies to those using the mobile app that does not support polls yet. But we encourage you to find us online or on social media and cast your vote!

Next: Stars Send Down Faksa, Banking On Eaves To Keep Tradition

The Stars take on the Buffalo Sabres in New York tomorrow. Which one of the Finnish net-minders do you think will get the nod?