A full 82-game NHL season is a wonderful thing.
If this were last year, the regular season would be just about over thanks to an inexcusable lockout.
Instead, this season is just about halfway over. That sounds much better.
The Dallas Stars have played 35 games so far this season, and although there is still a long way to go I've seen enough from them to hand out their midseason report card.
Goaltending
The numbers might not reveal just how special Kari Lehtonen has been for the Stars so far. Per ESPN, in 27 starts he is 13-8 with a goals-against average of 2.54 and a save percentage of .920. Those numbers are solid, but not mind-blowing. Lehtonen ranks just 14th league-wide in save percentage, and 21st in GAA.
But among goalies who have made at least 25 starts this season, Lehtonen ranks seventh in number of shots faced. It's a simple fact that the more shots a goalie faces, the more pucks find the back of the net. Lehtonen is having to support a Dallas defense that is allowing 32.7 shots per game, per NHL.com.
The numbers seem to be a bit misl ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Will Korn
Dallas Stars’ Report Card Nearing the Season’s Midway Point
December 22nd, 2013 by Will Korn Leave a reply »
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