Dallas Stars: Lack Of Offense Wasting Impressive Run By Kari Lehtonen
While starting goaltender Ben Bishop recovers from an injury, Kari Lehtonen is holding down the fort for the Dallas Stars. So far, he’s doing a pretty stellar job. But the problem, as crazy as it may seem, happens to be with the team around him.
The Dallas Stars don’t deserve Kari Lehtonen. Over the past three seasons, it seems as though this sentence would make more sense being flipped around to “Kari Lehtonen does not deserve the Dallas Stars.”
But here we are. The Stars are 69 games into their 2017-18 regular season campaign. They are stuck in the middle of a highly-contested playoff push and have a good shot at qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016. That is, as long as they can keep winning.
The Western Conference playoff race is more packed than ever before, with 11 teams still in the running for the eight spots. The crazy thing is that there is less than one month remaining in the regular season. That being said, each of these teams is scavenging for every point possible. While there are three teams who are pretty much guaranteed a spot, the other five spots are wide open.
And that’s why Dallas needs to be on top of their A-game through these final 13 contests. At the moment, they sit in one of those five spots as the first wild card team. But things can change quickly with a handful of bad losses. That’s what the Stars are trudging through right now, and their playoff position is quickly becoming jeopardized.
Dallas Stars
But there is one thing that is trying its best to keep Dallas in the fight. That is the goaltending of Kari Lehtonen. And at the moment, the Stars are not rewarding him for his efforts.
Dallas starting goaltender Ben Bishop left last Monday’s game with a knee injury and has missed the past week. With that being said, the Stars had to call on former starter and current backup Kari Lehtonen to carry the load. It wasn’t the first time this season that Dallas needed Lehtonen to play a big role, and it probably won’t be the last.
Lehtonen is rolling through the 2017-18 season right now and is proving to be one of the hottest backup goalies in the NHL. At the moment, he owns a .921 save percentage and 2.23 goals against average. These numbers are some of the best in his 14-year career and have him near the top of all backups.
His play has been highly noticeable as of late. In his past 13 appearances, Lehtonen owns a .934 save percentage and 1.69 GAA. Those are highly impressive numbers.
But his record this season? 12-8-2. While that isn’t necessarily a bad record, it should be much better for a guy with the numbers listed above.
So what’s up? Why are the Stars still a team near the playoff bubble if their backup goaltender is constantly putting on a show? Well, it’s rather simple: the offense in front of Lehtonen is doing nothing to help his case.
Since Bishop went down, Lehtonen has been the undeniable no. 1 starter. In that brief span, he has a .935 save percentage and has given up seven goals in four appearances. But his record sits at 1-2-1.
Live Feed class=inline-text id=inline-text-15
Editor In Leaf
Those are outstanding numbers to only pick up three of a possible eight points. But it’s the team in front of him that is weighing him down.
Since Lehtonen took over in the second period in last Monday’s game, the Dallas Stars have scored four goals. That translates out to around one goal per contest.
Everyone knows that defense wins championships, but nothing can be won if the score is 0-0. There has to be a little offensive push in the other direction. And right now, the Stars aren’t showing that push. That’s not good considering Lehtonen is currently standing on his head for the club.
Last Tuesday, Lehtonen put together what may have been his best start of the year, going 32-33 against the Nashville Predators. The Stars didn’t score a goal and fell 2-0 after the Preds put an empty netter away. On Friday, he led Dallas to a big win over Anaheim by stopping 26 of 27 and only giving up one goal in the first period.
And then there is Sunday night’s game in Pittsburgh. Lehtonen did everything in his power to keep the team afloat and stopped 27 of 29 while the Stars put up a measly 18 shots on the Penguins’ third-string goaltender. It was an excellent opportunity to capitalize and Lehtonen was prepared. But the rest of his team was not.
For the first time in what seems like a long time, the offense, not the goaltending, is to blame for the Stars’ lack of success. That has to change quickly. Not only so the Dallas Stars can get back into a solidified position in the playoff race, but also to maximize Lehtonen’s efforts. There is no telling how long he will keep this hot streak alive, so it’s best to make the most out of it now.
Next: What Stars Have On Tap In Lengthy Road Trip Ahead
Kari Lehtonen is carrying the Dallas Stars through a tough stretch right now. He’s doing everything in his power to not only keep the team in games, but also give them a shot at winning. Unfortunately, the team in front of him is not repaying the favor.
That needs to change starting tonight in Montreal. If Lehtonen does get the start, it will be interesting to see if and how Dallas pays him back on offense.