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Survivor: Dallas Stars goaltending edition

By Ryan Chambers

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - FEBRUARY 27: Ben Bishop #30 of the Dallas Stars looks on during the first period of the game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on February 27, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - FEBRUARY 27: Ben Bishop #30 of the Dallas Stars looks on during the first period of the game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on February 27, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Watching the goalie situation in Dallas right now is almost like watching a really bad episode of Survivor. It started with four contestants and after two weeks, there are only two remaining, and Jim Nill is starting to look like a genius for his signing of Braden Holtby. Find out which two goaltenders remain after this week’s tribal vote.

Last week, Ben Bishop was sent down to the AHL on a conditioning assignment and it looked promising that the Denver-born goaltender was beginning the end of his long trip back to the NHL. On Wednesday night against the Chicago Wolves, the 35 year old allowed 8 goals on 34 shots and looked very rough in the amount of time that he played. It was revealed on Saturday he was being recalled from the AHL and returning to the LTIR (long time injured reserve) list.

The writing was on the wall after this announcement. Everyone knew at that moment Bishop’s 11-year career was over. Ben was supposed to continue his conditioning assignment through the weekend and into this week, but I’m sure he spoke with his family and Stars’ management and decided it was time to hang the skates up.

Ben Bishop ends his career with an overall record of 222 wins, 128 losses, and 36 overtime losses with 2.32 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.

Yesterday, Anton Khudobin, the hero of the 2020 bubble playoff run, was put on waivers with the intention of sending him to the AHL. Dobby has been one of the biggest goofballs on the team and watching him brought joy to me. However, it was time to move on from Anton after being outplayed by the young Oettinger through last season and into this season as well.

In Dobby’s last game which was against the Minnesota Wild, the Kazakstanian allowed seven goals on 26 shots and ended the game with a .731 save percentage. His stats for this year have not looked much better. His record of 3-3 doesn’t look so bad, but his poor 3.73 goals-against average and agonizing .873 save percentage speak for themselves.

Oettinger’s current stats of a record of 5-1, 1.51 goals-against average, and .951 save percentage this season speaks volumes of Oettinger deserving to stay in the NHL. To put both of these men’s stats into context, the league average this year for goaltenders in save percentage is .912 and the goals-against average is 2.74.

You have to give full credit to Jim Nill right now because of the situation Dallas found itself in. It’s almost as if he had a crystal ball or he was psychic and could look into the future. His signing of Braden Holtby is the best move Nill has done over the past several years.

Many Stars’ fans criticized the signing and were completely baffled. However, he saw the potential of Holtby and the decline of Dobby coming before it even happened. Otherwise, we would be asking a young 22 year old to save our season before it’s even halfway through.

It looks like Ben Bishop or Anton Khudobin didn’t survive this season of Survivor: Goaltender edition. However, if Khudobin clears waivers on Wednesday and gets sent down to Cedar Park, there’s a chance he can make a comeback on this season’s Survivor: Dallas Stars goaltending edition.

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