from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

Good playoff teams have good playoff goaltending. It’s a hockey thing — you can’t have one without the other, right?

Then there is this seven-game series between the Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues, in which three different goalies have been pulled after shaky starts. The result is a Game 7 with a twist: two coaches who are semi-confident in their starters.

Now, you won’t find either coach admitting to it. But Dallas’ Kari Lehtonen lost the starter’s job in Round 1, found his game again, then lost it again midway through Round 2.

He’s now had three good games in a row. While history tells us that means the goalie is due for a stinker, Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff is saying the right things after Lehtonen’s strong Game 6.

“We went into a real tough situation (in Game 6) and he stood tall, and I think that’s just a sign that he’s comfortable inside a big game right now,” Ruff said.

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