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Dallas Stars: Kari Lehtonen’s Five Best Moments As A Star

By Josh Clark

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 23: Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen (32) skates back to the bench during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins on March 23, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Boston defeats the Stars 3-2. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 23: Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen (32) skates back to the bench during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins on March 23, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Boston defeats the Stars 3-2. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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3. LA Goes Speechless At Kari’s Glove

“Forget it. It’s over. Save of the year. Wow.”

These were the first words out of Daryl Reaugh‘s mouth immediately following a miraculous save by Kari Lehtonen.

On Nov. 13, 2014, the Dallas Stars were in Los Angeles for the second and final game of a short road trip out West. They had just met up with the Kings nine days before at the AAC, with LA taking the 3-1 victory. On top of that, the Stars were riding a bit of a disappointing skid.

Dallas had won two days prior against Arizona in a narrow 4-3 decision. It was their first victory since Oct. 24. Between those two days, the Stars had crumbled to an 0-5-2 record. It tied their longest losing streak of the regular season and helped pin them behind in the playoff race early in the 2014-15 season.

Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars /

Dallas Stars

So, a win against LA was needed to start building some momentum and carrying the team back towards a positive direction.

The Stars jumped on the Kings early and came bursting out of the gate. Ryan Garbutt scored halfway through the first period and Jason Spezza added on another tally in the second to give Dallas the 2-0 lead.

The surprising part of the game, though, was Lehtonen’s composure. After a shaky start to what would eventually become a shaky year, Lehtonen didn’t necessarily have the most impressive streak going. He had only won one of his previous five starts and needed a big performance against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

And he made it happen. Lehtonen held strong through the first period, but faced a storm after Dallas took the 2-0 lead in the second and sat back as a result. He stopped all 14 shots faced, including a sensational glove save on Jarrett Stoll.

It took place on an offensive rush by LA that involved plenty of puck movement and shifting. Stoll found the puck on the far side with Lehtonen hugging the wrong post. But after a flailing move and a perfectly placed glove, the Big Finn made the grab of the year.

It’s hard to argue that this wasn’t one of Lehtonen’s greatest moments in the Stars crease. You may say that it was a bit lucky or you may argue that it was complete skill and attention to detail.

Either way, the Dallas Stars goaltender made the Staples Center go quiet with an unreal save that eventually led to an impressive shutout.

Just pure, unadulterated larceny.

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