'Competition is always good': Anton Khudobin to make preseason debut

Stars (0-0-2, 2 points) at Panthers (3-0-0, 6 points)

So a lot will be riding on the shoulders of Khudobin, who will get his preseason debut tonight and is scheduled to play the entire game. Khudobin's laid-back personality has helped him a great deal throughout his career, and it'll definitely come in handy this season.
"Competition is always good," Khudobin said Friday morning. "You just go out there and try to stop as many as possible. That's normal. Coaches want us to battle, so good for it."
Khudobin, 35, has played for five NHL teams and has been a backup for much of his career. He split the duties with Bishop in his first two seasons in Dallas, and then took over in the 2019-20 playoffs, helping to lead the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final. He posted a career-best 2.22 goals-against average and .930 save percentage during the regular season and then was a mental rock in the postseason.
However, he got a severe case of COVID in the following offseason and then battled with a wrist injury last year, and his numbers went down. He was 12-11-7 with a 2.54 GAA and .905 save percentage and the Stars missed the playoffs.
Fast forward to this year, and Khudobin said he is feeling great and looking forward to the challenge.
"A little bit more offseason time," he said. "Last year was little bit different. It was a little bit difficult last year. I feel like normal right now."
Stars head coach Rick Bowness said Khudobin's calm is a strength.
"That's part of being a pro athlete, there's always someone who is knocking on your door and after your job," Bowness said. "We've got good competition at the goaltending position, which you absolutely have to have, and they're going to push each other."
Asked how much Khudobin was affected by everything last season, Bowness said he prefers to look forward.
"It doesn't matter. That's all behind us," Bowness said. "He's healthy, he's worked hard all summer, he's in great shape. Now it's up to him to show us what he can do."
Khudobin said he will try to do the same thing.
"You want to always think optimistically, that's what I think," Khudobin said. "Negativity never works."

What to watch

The FCC line with Radek Faksa, Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano had its share of struggles last season, as Faksa battled a wrist injury and Comeau and Cogliano battled to finish scoring chances. Cogliano left in free agency and signed with San Jose, while the Stars signed a potential replacement in Luke Glendening. That trio will get its first preseason look tonight and will definitely deserve attention.
Faksa stayed in Texas the entire summer and rehabbed his wrist and says it feels great. Glendening, 32, will be playing outside of the Detroit Red Wings organization for the first time in 10 seasons and is hoping to improve on the 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 54 games he had last season. And Comeau, 35, is on a one-year deal and is hoping to continue to add the grit and leadership he has contributed for the past three seasons while potentially moving from right wing to left wing.
"So good, so far in practice," Faksa said. "Luke is a hard-working player. He's strong on the faceoffs on the right side, so it's going to be a huge help for us. I think we will get our chances, so hopefully we'll score more this year."
Glendening, a right-handed shot, won 60.9 percent of his faceoffs last season. Faksa, a lefty, won 55.8 percent of his draws, even with the wrist injury. The Stars are hoping that line will start with the puck a lot and be able to dominate possession on their shifts.

Lineup updates

After using a veteran lineup Wednesday in Dallas and with a preseason game in El Paso on Sunday, the group playing Friday will be a mixed bag. Here are the expected lines:
Comeau-Faksa-Glendening
Kiviranta-Bourque-Gurianov
Robertson-Damiani-Kawaguchi
Gardner-Back-Caamano
Lindell-Heiskanen
Rosburg-Cecconi
Borgman-Barteaux
Khudobin
Point
The Faksa line will play in key situations and will get a very good look. Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen are expected to be a new pairing this season, so it will be interesting to see how they look in a game. And regulars like Jason Robertson, Denis Gurianov and Joel Kiviranta will get the opportunity to seize more of the leadership role in a game like this.
And while there's a really good chance several of these players aren't starting the year in the NHL, this group includes a lot of potential call-ups. Players like Nick Caamano, Rhett Gardner, Riley Damiani, Jordan Kawaguchi, Andreas Borgman and more could definitely log games in the NHL this season. So having a memorable performance in front of Bowness and the assistants would be a pretty good thing against a Panthers squad that should ice a pretty full lineup.
"Florida is probably missing three guys from their team, so I told the guys this morning, 'Can you help us?'" Bowness said. "We're going to see tonight if you can help us, how close you are to playing in the National Hockey League. I get it, early morning skate, travel, it's not the easiest day. So what? You've got to overcome it. If you want to show that you can help us, show us tonight against a National Hockey League team."

Numbers

0.49

Defenseman Miro Heiskanen posted 0.49 points per game last season, tallying 27 points (8 goals, 19 assists) in 55 games. He had 0.96 in the playoffs the previous season with 26 points (6 goals, 20 assists) in 27 games.

104

Esa Lindell led the Stars in blocked shots last season with 104 in 56 games. Jamie Oleksiak was second with 88.

28

Rhett Gardner played in 28 NHL games last season, while Nick Caamano played in 24, so the Stars have plenty of experience on the fourth line tonight.

He said it

"We knew before camp that he would have to go. We've got a ot of bodies herem, we've got a lot of guys we have to look at. But I'll tell you one thing, he'll play for the Dallas Stars. He's got National Hockey League player written all over him. He's 18, he's going to get a little stronger - he's got to get that - but the hands, the hockey sense, the skating, everything you want in a player, that's what we're seeing.: -- Stars coach Rick Bowness on 18-year-old first-round pick Wyatt Johnston, who was returned to his junior team on Thursday.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.