Dallas, home of the NHL’s most-discussed goalie platoon, has made the call for its opening-night starter against Anaheim.
Antti Niemi, who came on in relief of Kari Lehtonen in last year’s 6-1 playoff elimination loss to St. Louis, will be in between the pipes tonight at American Airlines.
More: Goaltending remains the biggest question mark in Dallas
The Stars’ two-goalie setup was under the microscope throughout last season, and that scrutiny only intensified in the playoffs. Head coach Lindy Ruff grew wary of the situation -- saying he was “tired of explaining our two goalie thing” -- but, after getting bounced, he insisted the Stars didn’t one clear-cut No. 1 netminder.
GM Jim Nill agreed. He shot down rumblings of a potential Lehtonen buyout in June, remaining committed to the goaltending tandem that costs Dallas $10.4 million annually.
It’s probably worth noting that Dallas made the decision to open last year with Niemi as well. He played well, posting a 37-save shutout against Pittsburgh.
For the Ducks, John Gibson gets the start tonight.
Elsewhere...
-- Al Montoya will start over Carey Price (flu) when Montreal takes on Buffalo. The Sabres will counter with Robin Lehner.
-- Jaroslav Halak, coming off an impressive performance with Team Europe at the World Cup, will be in goal for the Islanders. The Rangers are going with Henrik Lundqvist.
-- No surprises in Columbus, as both the Bruins and Jackets are going with their No. 1s: Tuukka Rask and Sergei Bobrovsky.
-- In a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff series, Ben Bishop and the Bolts will host Petr Mrazek and the Red Wings.
-- Former teammates Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo will get the starts as the Devils take on the Panthers in Florida.
-- Jake Allen, who stopped 17 of 19 shots in last night’s win over Chicago, goes back-to-back as the Blues take on the Wild. Devan Dubnyk goes for Minnesota.
-- As Brough wrote earlier, Connor Hellebuyck has been named Winnipeg’s opening-night starter. He’ll be up against Cam Ward, who gets the nod for Carolina.
-- Familiar matchup in Pittsburgh as Marc-Andrey Fleury and the Pens host Braden Holtby and the Caps. Fleury, of course, is the Pens’ No. 1 starter with Matt Murray (hand) sidelined.