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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Holtby the Hero?

In his three stars so far, newcomer Braden Holtby has looked... good? Plus, highlights from last night’s win, eight year deals reign supreme, and more.

This offseason, the Dallas Stars opted to sign free agent goaltender Braden Holtby, who was coming off two awful seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals. The move was heavily panned by, err, certain individuals, but so far, Holtby has been stellar between the pipes:

“He’s been very calm. He’s been rock solid back there,” [head coach Rick] Bowness said. “You feel very confident with him in the net. He handles the puck really well. He moves it quickly, moves it to the right areas and moves it quickly. He’s very poised in the net. He gives you a lot of confidence when you look back and see him in the net. It’s a good feeling.”

It’s only been three games for the Stars’ newest goaltender, but he’s so far stopped 89 out of 94 shots faced for a .947 SV%. Time will tell if it’s just a hot start or a sign of things to come, but if he continues to play like he did against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, the Stars’ creases is in good hands:

“He was outstanding, especially in the second period,” [Michael] Raffl said. “I thought we let him hang by himself for quite a bit of the period and he stood on his head and gave us a chance to win tonight. That’s huge, especially on the road.”

You can read more about Holtby and last night’s win from Saad Yousuf here.

Stars Stuff

Here’s Holtby himself in the postgame presser:

Raffl, the lone goal scorer for Dallas, also got some time on the mic:

And of course here’s Rick Bowness:

In case you missed the action:

Around the League

It was a mixed bag for the Central Division last night:

  • The Colorado Avalanche were thoroughly trounced by the Washington Capitals 6-3. [Japers’ Rink]
  • Meanwhile the Chicago Blackhawks didn’t fare any better, falling 4-1 to the New York Islanders. [Lighthouse Hockey]
  • At least the Nashville Predators eeked out a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings? [On the Forecheck]
  • And finally, goaltending went out the window as the Minnesota Wild outlasted the Winnipeg Jets 6-5 in overtime. [Hockey Wilderness]/

It’s time for a homecoming for Jesperi Kotkaniemi:

A less than stellar start for the Seattle Kraken as their first road trip is in the books:

The Kraken will play their first home game of the season on Saturday, debuting Climate Pledge Arena:

Speaking of poor starts to the season, the Montreal Canadiens have gone 0-4. Ouch:

There’s been a lot of eight year deals lately — Pierre LeBrun explores why:

Finally, another reason for hockey fans to get ESPN+ (if they haven’t already):

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