Though the depth chart might say otherwise, Anton Khudobin is the Dallas Stars’ top goaltender.
All things considered, it has not been a great year for the Stars’ Ben Bishop. After dealing with injuries constantly throughout last year’s regular season, he had a stellar playoff run in between the pipes, and with a little more help from his offense might have led his team to (at least) a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Unfortunately, the carryover from season to season isn’t always easy in professional sports.
So far in the 2019-2020 regular season campaign, Dobby has outperformed his counterpart in between the pipes.
Though he has started 15 fewer games than Ben Bishop, he is only 6 wins behind. His Save Percentage (SV) leads the league at .931%, and his Goals Against Average is a fifth of a goal (2.26 vs 2.45) better than Big Ben’s.
By the eye test, both are great, but when broken down, it stats themselves are a little more revealing.
This is not a post against Ben Bishop by any means, but Anton Khudobin deserves more credit than he receives for his work in the crease. Dobby is a fan favorite in Dallas and always seems to be charismatic when a camera is around. If you don’t follow him on social media, I would strongly recommend adding him. He seems to perform when times are a little bit tougher and is undoubtedly one of, if not the best backup goalie in the league. The Stars have a goalie tandem that about every team in the league would just like one of.
Khudobin is a pure Kazakhstan workhorse. He is 33 years old and has had multiple 40-save games for the Dallas Stars this season already, with 8 total since joining the Stars a season and a half ago. He is the real deal, and it is time the rest of the league takes note. His off-ice and bench antics are great, but his play on the ice so far this season has helped as a much-needed second line of defense with a team that doesn’t always generate a lot of goals on the other end.
If you are Dallas Stars interim Head Coach Rick Bowness, you have to go with the hot hand, and right now, that is without question Anton Khudobin.
Let him shine, Coach.
Featured Image: Reddit