Predators Flip the Switch vs. Stars: 3 Reasons they Got Revenge in Dallas
By Chad Minton
Bad Goaltending for Dallas, Clutch Goaltending for Predators
A tale of two very different goalie performances with both teams going with their backups. Scott Wedgewood for Dallas never looked comfortable right from the opening faceoff and his first shot faced, while Kevin Lankinen had to come up with some difficult saves mostly in the 2nd period.
Lankinen also had to deny a penalty shot early in the 2nd period to keep the Stars off the board. He would finish with a positive Goals Saved Above Expected at 0.8.
The save percentage Lankinen finishes with doesn't really do him justice for how great he was in clutch moments. Stopping the penalty shot was huge and the ultimate x-factor in the final score, but there were other moments when he had to scramble all over the crease to keep the puck out.
The Stars didn't stop coming at the Predators. They're one of the best, if not the best, teams in the NHL at making comebacks and winning one-goal games. You can never count the Stars out.
Wedgewood only faced 22 shots but surrendered four goals. He only faced one High Danger shot attempt from Nashville while Lankinen faced six High Danger shot attempts from Dallas.
Lankinen moves his season record to 5-3-0 while also appearing in four other games in relief duty for Juuse Saros. The questions keep swirling on if Brunette should even out the starts more between Lankinen and a streaky Saros.