Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix
Dallas allowed 260 goals last year, and did nothing to remedy the situation except downgrade their defense and add another goalie who isn't much better than the one they already had. Sure they might score more but at this point they look like a slightly better version of Edmonton. Unless they do something about that D situation (bottom 4-5 in the league with Philly, Toronto and Edmonton) they aren't sniffing the playoffs.
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Lehtonen's save percentage over the last 4 seasons went like this:
.922
.916
.919
.904
The backups were just as bad.
Dallas had the second worst save percentage in the league last season. They were 19th in allowing shots against. Slightly better than 13/14. Most everything stayed the same from year to year besides that. In 13/14 they were 17h in the league in goals allowed. Save percentage makes a huge difference.
I would expect Lehtonen to bounce back based on his career thus far. Niemi will be better than the backups and will take the number one job if Lehtonen continues to falter.
I think that sets Dallas up to get a huge boost. Going from league basement to average save percentage could mean a 20-30 goal swing and that means Dalls could go from being a +1 team in goal diff to +20-30.
I don't know if they are a lock to make the playoffs but I like their chances.