Things have been looking up for the Dallas Stars and way down for the Minnesota Wild, and while it doesn’t all come down to goaltending, their netminders have experienced very different outcomes.
Kari Lehtonen has had the look of a franchise goalie as Dallas is on a hot streak. On the other hand, the Wild are stumbling, and one has to really wonder about Darcy Kuemper’s confidence at this point.
Kuemper was pulled from Saturday’s game after allowing four goals on 21 shots through a little less than 29 minutes.
The young goalie has now been pulled five times since Nov. 13, as the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Michael Russo points out.
Here’s Vernon Fiddler’s 3-0 tally, which is noted in part because of theater puns.
The Stars are currently up 5-0, so it seems like both teams continue to trend in opposite directions.
The Pioneer Press’s Chad Graff illustrates an especially rough stretch for Minnesota:
The Stars have three goals this period. The #MNWild have two shots.
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) January 4, 2015