'I know what to expect': No challenge too tall for Stars veteran Khudobin

If Tuesday was any indication, one of the oddest seasons in NHL history won't affect Stars goalie Anton Khudobin in a negative way.
Khudobin, 34, signed a
three-year contract extension
in the offseason, and that made his travel back from Russia a little complicated. He needed a new passport because of the contract, and the COVID-19 pandemic meant that immigration offices in all countries were dealing with many problems. So as Khudobin prepared for his return to Texas, he had to race around to get the necessary paperwork completed.

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"If I wouldn't get my passport on the 30th or 31st or whatever, I wouldn't be getting here until right now," Khudobin said of the December deadlines. "So I was panicking, but luckily I got my passport at 5 p.m. local time and I flew next morning at 5 a.m., so literally 12 hours after I got my passport."
Everything worked out -- in fact, probably better than expected -- but that's how it is with the free-wheeling goalie. Somehow, someway, he ends up doing pretty well.
"He's a great example of someone who can just adjust to whatever happens," said Stars coach Rick Bowness. "Nothing ever seems to bother him."
Khudobin's immigration issues could have meant he was not ready for the scheduled season opener on Thursday. However, he got to town, went through the quarantine process and testing, and was on the ice Tuesday. The Stars had to shut down for three days of practices because of a COVID outbreak, so now their season opener is scheduled for Jan. 19 or 22. That means Khudobin will be on point and ready to start.
"I'm very confident in saying that when we start to play, Dobby will be ready to go," Bowness said Tuesday. "He had a good day today, and he'll be ready to go, simple as that."

Khudobin was the team's lifesaver in the playoffs. When No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop was battling injuries, Khudobin stepped up and played 25 games over 55 days. He went 14-10, including 6-1 in overtime. He was the team's playoff MVP, and he earned a great deal of confidence from everyone in the organization.
"He stepped up and he didn't let anything bother him," said Stars General Manager Jim Nill. "I think we fed off of that."
Khudobin's offseason was a journey. He had surgery to repair a hand injury he experienced in the playoffs and also battled through a bout of COVID-19.
"As soon as I finished my rehab (for my hand), I catch COVID and I was out for another three weeks," he said. "I started skating in December, but it was hard. And then my city was a red zone. We had a lot of COVID in all of the city, so they shut down all of the facilities, gym, ice. So I had to figure out how to work out in the snow, which I did, but at the same time I didn't skate as much."
Khudobin said he feels like he's in good shape and has put all of that in the past. He said the battle against COVID was difficult.
"I'll tell you right now, it's not easy," Khudobin said. "First of all, it's hard to breathe. I didn't have it really bad, like, they didn't have to put me on an oxygen tank. I was breathing normal. But if you're going upstairs to the second or third floor, you're going to catch your breath. It's hard. When I started skating, it wasn't easy for a week. But other than that, nothing really crazy."
He said he had all of the common effects that come with the disease.
"I lost my taste," Khudobin said. "I lost it for, like, a month and a half. Whenever you're eating, you just don't feel what you're eating. Like, if you're eating mashed potatoes, you don't even know if it's mashed potatoes. You are eating whatever, you don't know what you're eating, to be honest. I mean, you know what you're eating but you can't taste it. It was hard."
And yet on Tuesday, he was that happy-go-lucky guy again, ready to laugh at the past and take on the next challenge. Asked if he thinks he is going to have a heavier workload this year because Bishop is out, he said no. He just went through that playoff workload, so how could this one be any heavier?

The most games he's ever played in an NHL season was the 41 for the Stars in 2018-19 -- and that was over 180 days. This season is 56 games over 116 days, and the Stars are already scheduled to get a late start. Jake Oettinger will be the top backup, and he has never started an NHL game.
That means Khudobin could get a lot more starts this season.
"I know what to expect," he said assuredly.
Which is pretty much how he does everything.
Photo credit: Jeff Toates/Dallas Stars
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.