SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 9/28/2020 Calgary Flames 1194017 Former goalie coach on Stars’ Khudobin: ‘It’s been fun to see him shine’ Dallas Stars 1194018 Ben Bishop, Stars forwards remain unfit to play; Andrej Sekera game-time decision for Game 6 1194019 John Klingberg making massive contribution to some of Stars' biggest playoff goals, even if he’s not scoring t 1194020 Lightning captain Steven Stamkos out for remainder of Stanley Cup Final vs. Stars Edmonton Oilers 1194021 Lowetide: Who will be available if the Oilers pick at No. 14? NHL 1194022 Hockey Needs Viewers. It Should Not Glorify Pain and Violence to Get Them. Ottawa Senators 1194023 Ottawa Senators' defenceman Christian Wolanin says it's time for this team to take the next step Pittsburgh Penguins 1194024 Yohe: 10 observations on the Penguins’ overcrowded, oddly left-handed blue line Tampa Bay Lightning 1194025 Lightning not about to start doubting themselves after Game 5 loss 1194026 'Can’t catch a break’: Lightning fans reacts to Stamkos being done for Stanley Cup final 1194027 Lightning’s Steven Stamkos ‘done for the series’ 1194028 No need for the Lightning to panic. Unless you remember 2018. And 2016. And 2015. 1194029 Seasoned pair give the Stars a confidence boost Toronto Maple Leafs 1194030 Stars beat Lightning in double overtime to extend Stanley Cup Final Vancouver Canucks 1194033 Canucks top 10 prospects: Brogan Rafferty 1194034 A sports collection for the ages, purchased one game at a time by lifelong fan Vegas Golden Knights 1194031 Golden Knights may pursue star defenseman, others in free agency Washington Capitals 1194032 Where will longtime Capitals goalie Braden Holtby sign in free agency? Websites 1194035 Sportsnet.ca / Pavelski keeping Stars in hunt for Stanley Cup with leadership, production 1194036 Sportsnet.ca / Lightning not discouraged after missing first chance to lift Stanley Cup 1194037 Sportsnet.ca / Making the case to trade and keep each of Canadiens' top centres 1194038 Sportsnet.ca / Lightning seek to close out Stars as Game 6 favourites SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1194017 Calgary Flames Thrust into the spotlight in relief of an unfit-to-play Ben Bishop, Khudobin has posted a 14-9 record during the restart with a 2.72 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. Former goalie coach on Stars’ Khudobin: ‘It’s been fun to see him shine’ Despite a couple of tough outings against the Lightning, he would certainly be a Conn Smythe Trophy frontrunner if the Stars could complete the comeback. Wes Gilbertson Watching from afar, Marcoux has been beaming with pride. Countless other goaltending coaches must be feeling the same way. In the pressure-packed business of professional puck, not many guys are “He’s always been a guy that was very loud around the dressing room. eager — let alone angling — to spend so much downtime with the boss. You knew he was around. You knew Dobby was in the house,” Marcoux said. “Well, that’s translated also to being loud on the ice and telling the Anton Khudobin, as you know by now, is a little different. guys in front of him what he wants, too. He’s not shy of doing that, and “I was living in Carolina in an apartment complex, and he was in another he’s at that point now with his team. one … And my complex had a ping-pong table in the basement, in a lounge area, and his didn’t have one,” said Calgary-based David Marcoux, chuckling as he reminisced about his days as Khudobin’s “Probably the biggest thing we worked on in Carolina was his puck- goaltending coach with the Carolina Hurricanes. “Well, after every handling skills and I gave him some examples, too, of Kipper — when he practice on a non-game day, he would say, ‘Dave, can I come over? He was injured and couldn’t go down in a butterfly and for a month, we just wanted to beat me every single time at ping-pong.” worked on his puck-handling skills because that’s all he could do. And I think he used that, and now he’s become a proficient puck-handling And? goalie. In his own zone, he’s now a quarterback. “I didn’t win too often, I can tell you that,” Marcoux said. “As a 5-foot-11 goaltender, you also want to be in a position to see Khudobin, the feel-good story of the NHL’s summer restart, was rock- pucks. If you don’t, if your defenceman are in the way or trying to block solid again Saturday as the Dallas Stars managed to keep their shots or what I call ‘playing bad goalie,’ then pucks go through and he championship hopes alive, delaying any champagne celebrations with a becomes vulnerable. So he really needed to establish his leadership double-overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of skills and his communication skills to be able to see pucks and to keep the Stanley Cup final. The Bolts still lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven pucks away from rebounds. Because he needs to challenge the showdown, with Game 6 set for Monday inside the bubble in Edmonton shooters.” (6 p.m. MT, CBC/Sportsnet). The challenge now is to scratch out two more victories against the Lightning. The Stars are trying to become the first squad since 1942 to claw back In between games, based on one past account, he may also be racking from a 3-1 deficit in the league final. Two more wins would be fairytale up Ws at the ping-pong tables inside the NHL’s bubble. sort of stuff for Khudobin, a guy who has bounced around as a backup “Now, finally, he is The Guy and at the right time, at the right place, at the for five different NHL organizations and seems to be universally loved by right moment,” Marcoux said of Khudobin. “It’s been fun to see him those who have crossed his path. shine.” Even Flames bench boss Geoff Ward, whose club was eliminated from Calgary Sun: LOADED: 09.28.2020 these playoffs by the Stars, admitted a while back that the 34-year-old netminder from Kazakhstan — with his squat frame and unorthodox style — is an easy dude to root for. Ward was an assistant coach in Boston when Khudobin played a total of 15 games with the Bruins in the 2011-12 and ’12-13 seasons during his first of two stints with the club. “He has an outstanding personality. He loves to laugh, loves to have fun,” said Ward. “Everybody that’s ever been around Anton Khudobin just loves him. He fits into the locker-room so well. He’ll stay on the ice as long as you want after practice to do extra with you. When he goes in, he plays really hard for you … “Just everything about him bleeds team. And to see him now having success, everybody is, for sure, so pumped about that.” The undersized Khudobin came up big for the Stars in Saturday’s series- extender, delivering 39 saves in that 3-2 double-overtime triumph. He and Marcoux, best known around Calgary as Miikka Kiprusoff’s tutor during his heyday at the Saddledome, overlapped in Carolina during the 2014-15 campaign. “(Khudobin) has never lacked any self-confidence. Now, it’s just the opportunity that he does have to shine,” said Marcoux, who was the goaltending coach for the Flames from 2003-09, held the same job with the Hurricanes for three winters and now runs a puck-stopping school in Calgary. “He was very vocal during my time in Carolina, having Cam Ward as the No. 1 and him being the backup. He made it very clear that he wanted to play more. ‘He would say, ‘Why don’t I play more Dave? I should be playing more.’ And this is in a meeting with both goalies at the end of practice. Wardo and I would be looking at each like, ‘Holy smokes!’ “So self-confidence has always been there with him.” Khudobin is showing this summer why he is so sure of himself. 1194018 Dallas Stars Ben Bishop, Stars forwards remain unfit to play; Andrej Sekera game- time decision for Game 6 By Matthew DeFranks Stars forwards Roope Hintz, Blake Comeau and Radek Faksa, goaltender Ben Bishop and defenseman Stephen Johns remain unfit to play, interim coach Rick Bowness said Sunday. Defenseman Andrej Sekera will be a game-time decision for Game 6 on Monday night. Hintz, Comeau, Faksa, Bishop and Johns missed Game 5 on Saturday night. Sekera blocked a Mikhail Sergachev shot with the inside of his right knee in the first period of Game 5 and missed the second period before returning for the third period and both overtimes. Sekera played 13:38. Should Sekera miss Game 6, the Stars could turn to Taylor Fedun. Fedun was the team’s first choice when Johns got hurt in the first round against Calgary, but he lost his job to Joel Hanley when Fedun got hurt in Game 6 against Colorado. Hanley has played the last 12 games. Stamkos is done: Lightning coach Jon Cooper said captain Steven Stamkos would not play the remainder of the series. Stamkos played in one postseason game, scoring a goal in Game 3 against Dallas in just 2:47 of ice time. Dallas Morning News LOADED: 09.28.2020 1194019 Dallas Stars John Klingberg making massive contribution to some of Stars' biggest playoff goals, even if he’s not scoring them By Matthew DeFranks Defenseman John Klingberg has made a massive contribution to some of the Stars' biggest goals of these playoffs, even if he’s not the one scoring them.