The Dallas Stars now have a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Vgeas Golden Knights and are one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals and a match-up with either the New York Islanders or the Tampa Bay Lightning. Admitting it might be too early to close the book on the Golden Knights, what Dallas has done to date is commendable and they certainly wouldn’t be in this enviable position if not for the play of goaltender Anton Khudobin.
Khudobin made 32 more saves on Saturday, three of which came during a on a crucial 5-on-3 penalty kill late in the third period for the win. He wound up letting only one goal in and won first star of the game honors. Corey Perry said of his goaltender’s performance, “He makes big saves in crucial times… It’s giving everybody confidence on the bench.” Jamie Benn said in a quick post-game interview Khudobin was simply “magnificent.”
Perhaps one of the best things about all of this? Khudobin is a pending unrestricted free agent, only in net because he’s filling in for an injured Ben Bishop. Oh, and he had never made playoff start before this.
Here’s how his bio reads so far:
- .944 save % in Western Conference Final
- Leads league in shots faced, high danger shots faced
- Faced 40+ shots six times
- 17 games in 35 days
What does all this mean? Khudobin is setting himself up for a fairly nice pay day and in a market that has a lot of goaltenders for teams to choose from.
Couldn’t Have Picked a Better Time to Shine
For Khudobin, his timing is absolutely perfect. He’s heading into a buyer’s market on netminders but he’s quickly making a case for himself as the goalie to inquire on. He’s not going to be so expensive that a team will feel he’s out of reach, but now, with these performances, he’s created a situation for himself where he’ll have a number of more-than fair and viable offers to choose from.
Khudobin has stopped 124 of 130 shots in this series…and won 3 of 4 games. Teams will notice.
Just to emphasize how good a pick up this guy is going to be for a team in free agency, Khudobin is playing out of this world but refuses to take all the credit. Calling some of his big saves lucky, he’s more than happy to give a ton of love to his teammates, showing just how good a teammate he is. He said:
“The way the guys are battling, the way blocking shots. They have bruises, they have bumps, and they still sacrifice their bodies, go and block shots. Even if they can’t they still try, and they’re working their [expletive] off to make sure I see the puck.”
No doubt, Khudobin is going to get paid in free agency and every strong performance he has moving forward and as the season comes to a close is only going to up his value in a few weeks.
Next: Brian Burke Stirs The Pot With Rankings of Canadian NHL Teams
