Dallas Stars Should Start Kari Lehtonen In Final Game Before Break

The Dallas Stars will have a six-day break following their last home game on Saturday versus Edmonton. If they want to have the best outcome, it would serve them to put No. 32 in net to start the game.

Ben Bishop has been a great goaltender for the Dallas Stars this season and is at his best on home ice. However, his play of late shows signs of fatigue and it’d be in Dallas’ best interest to give Kari Lehtonen the start on Saturday’s afternoon match-up with the Edmonton Oilers.

Soft Goals

Although his record is impressive over his consecutive nine starts, Bishop has let in a few goals that simply should not happen over the last couple of games. Whether it was a weird bounce or a shot that caught him off guard, Bishop hasn’t been the brick wall goaltender the Stars have needed of late.

He’s been especially concerning late in games. Last night, for instance, the Stars had a two-goal lead in the third period with hopes of making it a relatively easy end to the night. While killing a penalty, Bishop was beat by a puck from the corner.

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This was without a doubt a stoppable puck. It didn’t hit a corner perfectly, it wasn’t a breakaway, it wasn’t even really a shot. Yes, it’s just one goal and the Stars went on to earn the full two points, but still that’s not always the case.

The first goal against him in the Columbus game was soft as were a handful of others on this home stand. As a starting goaltender in the NHL, soft goals can’t be a nightly thing.

Benchwarmer

More than Bishop’s questionable goals against is the concern with Lehtonen sitting for too long. As a former starting goaltender in the league, it is strange to see No. 32 so comfortable sitting in the hallway to the side of the Stars’ bench.

He needs to play to stay sharp. While warm-ups and practices simulate the NHL experience, nothing beats the real deal. If Dallas wants to maintain their one-two punch of Bishop as starter and Lehtonen as a very solid back-up, keeping him sidelined isn’t the way to do it.

Goaltenders need to be in the thick of things if they’re going to play well. The fact of the matter is that Lehtonen hasn’t been granted that opportunity and with a decently long break approaching, having him sit for Saturday’s match-up would be a grave mistake.

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Plus, Bishop could use a break too. The Stars have had games every other day for what seems like a month. While that’s not atypical for this level of hockey, it’s not healthy for one goaltender to shoulder all of that responsiblity.