Former Bruin Anton Khudobin Helps Lead Dallas Stars To Stanley Cup Final
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins may not be going to the Stanley Cup Final this year. But two former Bruins will be playing for hockey's ultimate prize.
One of those players is Tyler Seguin, though his two goals in 20 games make him more of a passenger than a driver.
The other has to be considered one of the unlikeliest candidates to be backstopping his team to glory, as former Bruins backup Anton Khudobin is on a special kind of run for the Western Conference champs. With an overtime win on Monday to eliminate the Vegas Golden Knights, Khudobin improved his playoff record to 12-6 this year. His .920 save percetnage and 2.62 GAA are far superior to teammate Ben Bishop's .844 and 5.43, and it has the Stars just four wins away from lifting Lord Stanley's Cup.
Khudobin started just 26 games during the regular season, though he did post dynamite numbers: a .930 save percentage actually led the NHL, and his 2.22 GAA ranked third.
In the conference finals, Khudobin went 4-1 with a ridiculous .950 save percentage and a 1.69 GAA, recording a shutout in a 1-0 Game 1 victory.
Now, he'll be in net as the Stars head to the Cup Final, most likely to face the explosive Tampa Bay Lightning. If he manages to maintain that high level of play, the former backup to Tuukka Rask will find himself firmly in the conversation as a prime Conn Smythe candidate. (Joe Pavelski, Denis Gurianov, Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, and Miro Heiskanen may all have something to say about that, too.)
The 34-year-old Khudobin had two stints with the Bruins. He joined the team via trade in February 2011, and he served as Rask's primary backup in 2013. He signed with Carolina after that season before being traded to Anaheim two years later. He re-signed with Boston in 2016, starting 43 games over two seasons and stating that Boston was his favorite city. He then signed with the Stars prior to the 2018-19 season.
It's been quite the rise from backup goalie to playoff leader. If he can maintain that level of play for one more series, it will become an indelible chapter of hockey history.
