Unexpected break helps Khudobin reset, return to form for Stars

Anton Khudobin was in a slump.
The 34-year-old goalie was 0-3-1 in four starts with a 4.25 goals against average and .866 save percentage. After carrying the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final last season and starting 3-0-0, it was a strange place for Khudobin, who watched rookie Jake Oettinger start three of four games.

READ MORE: [Khudobin's 'best game' goes to waste as rough second period costs Stars in loss to Panthers]
Then, to make things worse, the Stars were sidelined for a week because of bad weather in Texas, and Khudobin had to reset all over again.
Stars coach Rick Bowness said he hoped spending a week with goaltending coach Jeff Reese would help Khudobin shake out.
"Anton has had a week now, and Jeff has been out there working with him very hard, getting his game back where he wants it to be and where we're going to need it to be," Bowness said before the Stars headed out on a five-game trip through Florida. "You've got to hope this break has helped him."

The results were pretty clear on Monday that it did. Khudobin stopped 49 of 51 shots on goal and played his best game of the year, Bowness said.
"The only reason it was a hockey game was because of Anton," Bowness said. "There's nobody else in front of him that I'm going to sit here and tell you did their job -- not one of them. Anton was great. We didn't give him any help at all in that second period."
Khudobin faced the most shots on goal in his NHL career, and the Stars as a team faced the most in franchise history in one period - 29 in the second. Khudobin allowed both goals during that onslaught, and teammates apologized for that.
"We just fell apart," Stars defenseman John Klingberg said. "It's sports, it happens, but it's not acceptable the way it happened."
Khudobin continued to repeat his mantra during the slump -- do the same routine, embrace the same philosophy of worrying about the next shot, forget the bad performances before. He said that helped him on Monday.

"It's a little bit tiring, but games happen like that and I just focused on the next shot," he said. "As many as I have to stop, I have to stop. That's what I'm focusing on."
Khudobin said that the experience was good to get his feel for the game back.
"I felt good … I felt good," he said, before adding, "but it doesn't matter, because I didn't get the result."
Khudobin could be right back in net Wednesday for a rematch with the Panthers. The Stars now have to play the most compact schedule in the NHL, and it's expected both Khudobin and Oettinger will get plenty of starts.
"I think we're the only team that has postponed that many games," Khudobin said of the eight the Stars have missed. "It's not easy sometimes, but it is what it is. You have to prepare yourself to play best as possible."

Klingberg drops gloves for first time

Klingberg is a skilled skater and slick puck handler, so his job doesn't really call for fighting. But on Monday, Florida forward Patric Hornqvist was being a pest in front of Anton Khudobin during a frustrating second period, and Klingberg just snapped.
After wrestling Hornqvist away from the crease, Klingberg lost his gloves and started fighting.
It was the first fight of his professional career.
"It went on for way too long in the second period and I felt like maybe we needed a break or something," Klingberg said. "I tried to do something different. Why it happened, I think it was just because he was trying to get to the net-front really bad and I was trying to hold him out."

Klingberg and Hornqvist have been teammates on Team Sweden and know each other well, so it was an interesting partner for his first fight. Florida's Alexsander Barkov said both teams understood the reason for the fight and both teams had respect for the combatants.
"It was a great fight between two Swedes," Barkov said. "Horny is a great teammate, a great leader. He would do anything to get the team going. To have a guy like him on the ice and in the locker room and on the bench, he's a huge plus for us."
Klingberg too said it was a fight of respect.
"Obviously, Hornqvist is one of the best net-front guys in the league and has been for a lot of years," Klingberg said. "He tries to get in at the net-front and he tries to own the net, and I don't want him to go there. Just a little scrap."

Penalty kill improves on scoresheet, but Bowness not impressed

The Stars for only the second time in the past 10 games killed every penalty they took. Dallas was 3-for-3 on the kill, and that was huge in keeping it a one-goal game until the final minute.
Still, Bowness said he was not impressed with the penalty kill.

"They had way too many chances," Bowness said. "Anton [Khudobin] was our best penalty killer. That tells you your penalty killers are not doing their job. So 0-3, we're not fooled by that. Our penalty killers did not do a very good job."
In six minutes of power play time, the Panthers had 13 shots on goal and 21 shot attempts. They also won seven-of-eight faceoffs.

#

Robertson pushes scoring streak to five games

Stars rookie Jason Robertson had an assist on the Stars only goal, pushing his scoring streak to five games. Robertson has two goals and four assists in that span.
The streak is the third longest by a Dallas Stars rookie. Jamie Langenbrunner had eight games in 1996-97 and Brenden Morrow had six games in 1999-2000.

Robertson played the first two games of the season and then was scratched for five games. Since his return, he has been a different player.
"He just looks more comfortable, more confident," said forward Blake Comeau. "You watch him closely, he makes some really good poise plays, especially coming out of our zone. You don't see him throw a lot of pucks away, he's got great vision, great poise."

Up next

at Panthers; Wednesday 4 p.m. CT
BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla.
TV:FOX Sports Southwest
Radio:The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
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.