Dallas Stars coach Rick Bowness has played three goalies in the playoffs, but isn't revealing which one will start Game 4 or Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Tampa Bay Lightning lead the series 2-1 and can win the Stanley Cup with victories against Dallas this weekend. Bowness was asked if the Stars' results in Game 4 would impact his goalie call for Game 5, or if he had a predetermined plan in place for the back-to-back games.
"A little bit of both," Bowness said, followed by a protracted chuckle from the veteran coach.
All signs point to Anton Khudobin getting the start in net for Game 4. He has played in 22 games for Dallas this postseason, having appeared in 19 straight games during their run to the Stanley Cup Final. He was pulled in Game 3 against the Lightning after giving up five goals in two periods, replaced by rookie Jake Oettinger.
After the game, Bowness indicated that the back-to-back games and Khudobin's work rate were both factors in pulling him for the third period.
"(Khudobin) has battled so hard the whole playoffs. You just give him a breather," said Bowness after Game 3. "The back-to-backs are coming up. We gave the kid (Jake Oettinger) more experience and gave Dobby a break."
Khudobin said after the game that he didn't feel he needed the rest. "Coach made a decision to shake it up or change something. I didn't feel like I needed to get rest. If he decides to play me in Game 4, I will be ready," he said.
The team's other goalie, Ben Bishop, is considered unfit to play in Game 4, along with center Radek Faksa and defenseman Stephen Johns. Bishop has been limited in the postseason with a lower-body injury, playing in the round-robin against Vegas, in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals against Calgary and then getting pulled in the first period of Game 5 against Colorado in the conference semifinals, after giving up four goals in just 13:43.
Bishop has been skating and participating in optional practices this week.
The status of Bishop for Game 5 is a critical moment in the series. In his career, Khudobin in 5-6-0 with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage on zero days of rest. Those numbers influenced the Stars' decision to sit him for Game 5 of the semifinals against Colorado, despite having given the Stars a 3-1 series lead 24 hours earlier. Bishop said he was good to play in that game, and Bowness didn't have the trust in Oettinger in an elimination game. Khudobin ended up playing 40:57 after Bishop was pulled.
While it's only been 37 minutes and eight shots on goal, Oettinger does have more of a taste for the playoffs now than he did on Aug. 31, when Bowness opted for Bishop. Still, his two appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the only NHL games he's played. Oettinger, a 21-year-old Boston University product, became the first goalie in 55 years to make his NHL debut in the round before the Stanley Cup Final. The possibility exists his first NHL start could be in the Stanley Cup Final.
Bowness said he has the final call on the goaltenders, while consulting with his assistant coaches and goalie coach Jeff Reese.
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29970672/dallas-stars-reveal-goaltender-plans-games-4-5-stanley-cup-final
2020-09-25 18:41:54Z
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