Khudobin proves resilient on aspect dual carriageway to Stanley Cup Final as Stars goalie

Now, after taking part in for 13 skilled teams in 5 leagues and three worldwide locations all the contrivance thru the final 14 seasons, Khudobin finds himself within the Stanley Cup Final with the Dallas Stars, three wins from his first championship.

“When I became once increasing up, I became once pondering it became once my dream to play in NHL. I did now not tell that deep, to go and grab the Stanley Cup,” the Stars goalie said Friday. “When I obtained here, I realized or no longer it is miles now not easy to web there, no longer easy to web to the Final. So, then I commence pondering it may perhaps presumably be a mighty accomplishment to web there one day and grab the Cup.”

[RELATED: Complete Stanley Cup Final coverage]

The Stars lead the most intelligent-of-7 Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning after a 4-1 grab in Game 1 on Saturday. Game 2 is Monday at Rogers Situation in Edmonton, the hub city for the Cup Final (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

After being a backup his total NHL profession, the 34-year-historical is in a starring honest this postseason. With No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop unfit to play for most of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Stars grew to change into to Khudobin, who’s 13-6 with a 2.54 targets-against average, .923 place percentage and one shutout in 20 games (19 begins) within the postseason. He became once the adaptation of their Game 1 grab, stopping 35 of 36 shots, along side all 22 he faced within the third interval. He is now 9-0 with a .934 place percentage within the closing 9 games whereby he faced on the very least 30 shots. 

It became once surely a lengthy aspect dual carriageway from Kazakhstan to the Stanley Cup Final, but Khudobin has left his mark at his many stops, remembered as noteworthy for his broad personality as his work in goal. 

“This guy belongs on [“Late Night with David Letterman”], he belongs on the total reveals,” frail Dallas Stars goalie and contemporary president of the Stars Foundation Marty Turco said on the NHL @TheRink podcast Wednesday. “He’s one of these mighty interview. That doesn’t produce a mighty goalie, but he’s also a consummate skilled and fun and funny. He works so darn laborious, he basically does, and he’s been on [short-term] deals his total profession.”

Video: DAL@TBL, Gm1: Khudobin shines in Game 1 victory

Khudobin became once selected by the Minnesota Wild within the seventh round (No. 206) of the 2004 NHL Draft. He became once then chosen by Saskatoon of the Western Hockey League within the first round (No. 51) of the 2005 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft and performed 44 games all the contrivance thru the 2005-06 season, going 23-13-3 with a 2.90 GAA, .917 place percentage and 4 shutouts. Former Saskatoon coach Lorne Molleken said Khudobin became once a most neatly-liked addition on and off the ice.

“He went to university to receive English classes, and the of us that were deciding on him up and taking him to university daily, there were times they may grab him up in a limousine to receive him to university, descend him off and carry him dwelling,” said Molleken, now director of coach pattern at Prairie Hockey Academy in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

“He became once pretty a huge selection of fun and he became once a mighty competitor. The principle sport he performed for us became once an exhibition sport against Pills Hat (2-1 shootout loss). He faced about 70 shots that evening, attributable to we performed the total third interval most frequently facing a 5-on-3. That became once his welcome to the Western Hockey League.”

To ease Khudobin’s transition to North The United States, Molleken arranged for him to reside with a billet family, Anna and David Gersher, natives of Moldova, segment of the U.S. till 1991, who have lived in Canada for larger than 30 years.

“He became once obvious of himself, I may perhaps present that,” Anna said of her first assembly with Khudobin. “Of us present me that goalies are fancy that, they’re continually obvious of themselves, and he became once pretty obvious of himself. However he spoke only Russian, so we had very intelligent conversations. He would advance from games, or from conferences with the crew, and he would count on me, ‘What did they mean after they said, this or this?’ So I had to figure out what they said first, and then what they mean. My husband and I only had ladies, so with the boys, it became once a assorted twist. However he had fun.”

Video: DAL@TBL, Gm1: Khudobin shuts down Cirelli in front

The Gershers also supported Khudobin on noteworthy days. David Gersher remembered Khudobin’s disappointment after Saskatoon misplaced 4-3 in triple past peculiar time to Pills Hat in Game 2 of the 2006 WHL Jap Conference Semifinal, when Khudobin saved 80 of 84 shots.

“I suggested him, ‘Listen, no longer daily goes to be rain. There will likely be sun, too. Excellent retain going, close your thing,'” David said. “And here [he is], taking part in for the Stanley Cup. He set pretty a huge selection of effort in himself and attributable to this he’s the place he’s as of late.”

After one season with Saskatoon, Khudobin performed with Metallurg Magnitogorsk within the Russian Superleague in 2006-07 sooner than returning to North The United States. He largely performed within the minor leagues the next four seasons, with Houston and Providence within the American Hockey League, and Texas and Florida within the ECHL. 

He performed six games (four begins) for the Wild from 2010-11 sooner than they traded him to the Boston Bruins on Feb. 28, 2011. Stars participant pattern coordinator Successfully off Peverley, Khudobin’s teammate in Boston from 2011-13, said the younger goalie, a Gloomy Ace within the 2011 playoffs when Boston received the Stanley Cup, learned a functional lesson with the Bruins. 

“He modified his manner on nutrition, and I have in thoughts the next year he got here support and became once in phenomenal shape,” said Peverley, who grew to change into shut with Khudobin and on a peculiar foundation performed playing cards with him. “Within the event you are around [defenseman Zdeno] Chara and [forward Patrice] Bergeron and brilliant the manner they ate, then you definately are a Gloomy Ace and also you look this and tell, ‘OK, I’m within the AHL, what can I close to web to the NHL?’ Anton took that advice and reworked his sport. Two years later, he became once our backup and he became once popular for us. Excellent fancy in Dallas, with him going in, you knew he became once going to mean you may perhaps presumably presumably whereas you were going to battle.”

Khudobin said he benefitted both from searching on the Bruins’ 2011 flee and being the backup to Tuukka Rask after they misplaced the 2013 Stanley Cup Final to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.

“I became once studying from the practices, how they were making ready for the games,” he said Friday. “That became once an fantastic ride. It became once a time to care for how laborious it is to web here, how laborious it is to comprehend the Cup.”

Video: Khudobin, Stars receive Game 1 vs. Lightning

Khudobin left the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent and signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 5, 2013 and then a two-year contract March 4, 2014. He became once 27-31-7 with a 2.50 GAA, .914 place percentage and 11 shutouts in 70 games (66 begins) over two seasons with the Hurricanes. 

Former Carolina goaltending coach David Marcoux said Khudobin became once continually aggressive, be it taking part in Marcoux in Ping-Pong — “I did now not have too many wins against him,” Marcoux said — or trying extra begins with the Hurricanes.

“He may perhaps presumably be very vocal, even around Cam Ward, who became once the No. 1 goalie for without a sign of ending in Carolina, by manner of, ‘Why don’t I play extra Dave? When am I going to play extra?’ This is facing myself and Cam Ward,” said Marcoux, who now runs a goaltending college in Calgary. “[Ward] and I’d take a study every assorted and recount, ‘Successfully, that is form of awkward.’ He’s a man who you knew when he became once around the room attributable to you may perhaps presumably presumably hear him. He’s no longer a accumulated backup, never seeing himself as a straightforward backup. Wait on a few years ago, you had No. 1 goalies and also you had backups, and he form of bucked that vogue.”

Marcoux said most of his work with Khudobin in Carolina centered on improved verbal replace with teammates and puck-facing skills around the trapezoid condominium.

“You would’t grab a Stanley Cup attributable to of your puck-facing skills but you may perhaps presumably presumably lose a Stanley Cup attributable to of your puck-facing skills. To total much less every so most frequently, you may perhaps presumably presumably carry out extra,” Marcoux said. “That aspect of his sport became once no longer something that became once very frail sooner than him coming to Carolina, and I feel we did a judicious job at enhancing his puck-facing skills but on the identical time enhancing his verbal replace skills and studying the forecheck coming at him when he’s on the support of the earn.”

Video: Khudobin shines in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final

Khudobin became once traded to the Anaheim Geese on June 27, 2015 and then returned to the Bruins to all over again support up Rask, signing a two-year contract as a UFA on July 1, 2016. He then signed yet any other two-year contract, this time with the Stars, on July 1, 2018.

“I wish it became once a 5-year-deal now, it may perhaps presumably’ve been nice,” Stars total supervisor Jim Nill said Tuesday. “However appropriate for Anton. He’s earned this appropriate and I hope we can web him support attributable to he’s a broad segment of our crew, as now we have witnessed. Up to now as his personality, or no longer it is infectious. He fits into any room, he’s a battler and he never gives up.”

Khudobin performed an NHL profession-excessive 41 games (37 begins) with the Stars in 2018-19. He became once 16-8-4 with a 2.22 GAA and .930 place percentage in 30 games (26 begins) this season.

Stars forward Tyler Seguin, Khudobin’s teammate with the Bruins from 2011-13, said the goalie reminds him of Tim Thomas, who helped the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011 and received the Conn Smythe Trophy as most functional participant in these playoffs.  

“[Khudobin] has continually been that goalie in practice that you do now not cherish shooting on, attributable to you are no longer going to ranking noteworthy,” Seguin said. “He has the ride from seeing all that, from us being together in that group. There is a lot to learn from that group. They’re winners, they’ve been to the Final so many times. We were a segment of that a few times, so [Khudobin has] obtained that ride. He’s coming into his non-public. He’s aggressive, he works laborious and he gets the job finished.”

Khudobin also has that giant personality. After the Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in past peculiar time in Game 5 to comprehend the Western Conference Final on Sept. 14, Khudobin set a successfully-organized, Stars-branded necklace on and screamed, “We’re no longer going dwelling!” After a 4-2 grab against the Nashville Predators on the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Iciness Classic on the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, Khudobin did a running lope into the crew image, touchdown on his appropriate aspect and retaining his left leg within the air.

Turco (5-foot-11, 184 kilos) also likes that Khudobin (5-11, 195) is “bringing support the shorter goalies.” 

“He’s obtained some like a flash feet. I’d grab to look us in our primes together, who’s faster,” Turco said. “He’s involving stocky, mighty solid and basically flexible. We have viewed him close extra than one splits. He battles for the ground he wishes to have. I desire him to flip his quit and pass the puck extra successfully, but I feel I misplaced that fight a whereas ago. He’s an historical canine, but his sport doesn’t have too many flaws and holes. On occasion, fancy we all close, you may perhaps presumably presumably no longer look the puck and also you retreat a bit bit. It be a unconscious thing that occurs. Otherwise, he’s available within the market struggling with.”

He’s battled his manner to going 99-76-25 with a 2.46 GAA, .919 place percentage and eight shutouts in 218 NHL games, largely as a backup. And now because the starter, he’s struggling with to comprehend his first Stanley Cup championship, which may perhaps presumably be the first for the Stars since a six-sport victory against the Buffalo Sabres in 1999.

“[Khudobin’s] time in now, and also you correct never know the contrivance lengthy your profession goes to preserve up,” Marcoux said. “At 34, that it is advisable to now not trying to fetch a rocket scientist to know the down slope is shut to. However he’s in extremely appropriate shape. He’s an undersized goalie by NHL requirements, but by manner of perception, he’s an oversized goalie.”