The NHL Playoffs are sure to bring surprises. None have been as riveting as the emergence of Anton Khudobin, who in relief of starter Ben Bishop, has cemented himself as the heart and soul of the Dallas Stars. With him at the helm, the Stars have taken their seat atop the West and are currently awaiting the winner of the Eastern Conference finals.
At 34, and having never been a number one goaltender, the Stars were forced to turn to him when Bishop went down to injury on August 16th. To this point in his 11-year NHL career, Khudobin has averaged just 18 starts a season, and has never once started a game in the playoffs. Backstopping a team that had gone through their fair share of ups and downs throughout the season seemed like it would be too tall an order for an unproven goalie.
The Dallas Stars’ ‘19-20 season started off by earning only a single victory in their first nine games. Offensive struggles would persist throughout the entire year, and the team would finish the season ranked 27th in goals for. In December of 2019, their head coach was relieved of his duties under somewhat inconspicuous circumstances; a team-released statement cited “unprofessional conduct”. This would only give interim replacement Rick Bowness just over three months before the pandemic hit. To top it all off, they lost their final six games before the postseason, giving their net-minders no room for error by potting just nine goals throughout that span.
It’s easy to see why expectations weren’t sky-high heading into this year’s makeshift postseason. Then came “Dobby” …
While it’s common to judge the performance of an athlete based on stats alone, “Dobby” as his teammates call him, provides so much more in the way of team-altering confidence and commitment. Each game, he makes this fact more and more apparent. But let’s not forget that Khudobin has backstopped the Stars with a .920 save percentage in the postseason; so regardless of where you look, you’re sure to find that he has done nothing but provide value.
“You guys are surprised, we’re not”. This response, shared by coach Rick Bowness concerning his new number one goalie, seems to be the prevailing thought held by the entire franchise.
When asked to describe where his team’s sudden offensive competence came from, captain Jamie Benn immediately replied by saying, “We don’t get anywhere without Dobby tonight”. His reaction speaks volumes about the boost that this goaltender can provide all the way up and down the lineup.
After winning the Clarence S. Campbell trophy as Western Conference champions, Khudobin was gifted with the team-awarded trophy for player of the game (as has become expected). In the ceremonial “speech!” as demanded by his teammates, he said all that needed to be said, “We’re not going home”. This seems to be what has driven him thus far; showing that he is willing to do whatever it takes to will his team to victory night in and night out.
By being as upbeat, genuine, and team-dedicated as Khudobin is, it makes it easy to play tighter defense. It makes it easy to go that extra stride to block a shot or knock down a pass. It all boils down to accountability, and Dobby is doing more than holding up his end of the bargain.
As Dallas continues to shock pundits and fans around the world, we may need to alter our expectations for this team if Dobby continues down his current path. Considering the load that he has harbored with relative ease and swagger, and the way the team loves to play in front of him; why not them?
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