By Sara Townley
Part 4 – Goaltender Talk
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| photo by Sara Townley |
Chicago
has Corey Crawford, Montreal has Carey Price, the Rangers have Henrik
Lundqvist, and the one that impresses me most – Boston has Tuukka Rask. Those
are just a handful of big name goaltenders in the league with skills and the
save percentages to match the hype; all have proven themselves during both the
season and post season, each has unwavering confidence , and all are faces of
their franchises. When considering how much these goaltenders mean to their
teams and the league itself, is Kari the same caliber for the boys in Victory
Green?
I
thoroughly enjoy watching Tuukka Rask, partially for the temper tantrums he
throws when he’s occasionally scored upon, but I enjoy watching him mostly for
how smooth he is and how calm he remains under pressure. He never takes his eye
off of the puck and that amount of focus is mesmerizing. He doesn't dare turn
his back when resetting the puck behind the net until he’s certain a Bruin has
it taken care of and the way he goes about controlling the puck in situations
like that is unlike any other goalie in the league. He has his own style of
angry and aggressive play that’s working for him. What I feel we need is a guy
with qualities like this and more importantly, consistency, to net-mind for the
Stars. If it isn't Kari, who is it? Someone yet to be discovered or perhaps
someone we've seen before that, after some practice at the AHL level, is
finally ready to man the big pipes?
The Texas Stars have a few of
goaltenders they have relied on for success this year (Nilstorp, Campbell, and
Robinson), but their success at that level hasn't translated to the NHL and/or hasn't been game tested in the NHL yet. It’s tough to say what fate has in
store for these goaltenders currently, but making it this far into the Calder
Cup playoffs definitely isn't hurting their chances at a Dallas roster spot
next season. Plus, the extra attention from Mike Valley during this playoff run
is surely a step in the right direction.
I fully
expect Tim Thomas to hang up the Dallas Stars uniform, although I feel like the
trade for Thomas with Dan Ellis was an incredibly smart move by the Stars
staff. They absolutely don’t need me to
tell them that; I guarantee you they already know. I’m not confident the Stars
would've made it as far as they did if Ellis had stayed as the backup, so in my
mind the trade was exactly the right move at the right time.
Looking back over the season, Kari, without a doubt, had numerous games where he was dominant and in absolute control. He had his hand in helping the Stars make it to the playoffs and had a fair amount of success in that series. He also gained Olympic experience this year and even brought home a bronze medal for his country’s effort in Sochi, which may be another reason why he has some pretty good support as a Star. What I believe it comes down to is how he truly feels and how lucky the Stars staff is at searching for goaltenders, both a starter and a backup, which may prove to be even more difficult than the search for an answer to the defensive issues.
If Kari really wants to be here next year in Dallas, desires the training necessary to become a goaltender on par with those listed above, he just may prove to be THE guy the Stars need.
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| photo by Sara Townley |
Looking back over the season, Kari, without a doubt, had numerous games where he was dominant and in absolute control. He had his hand in helping the Stars make it to the playoffs and had a fair amount of success in that series. He also gained Olympic experience this year and even brought home a bronze medal for his country’s effort in Sochi, which may be another reason why he has some pretty good support as a Star. What I believe it comes down to is how he truly feels and how lucky the Stars staff is at searching for goaltenders, both a starter and a backup, which may prove to be even more difficult than the search for an answer to the defensive issues.
If Kari really wants to be here next year in Dallas, desires the training necessary to become a goaltender on par with those listed above, he just may prove to be THE guy the Stars need.
Look for the wrap-up to this series next week!
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