from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News,

The Stars currently sit 28th in goals against average at 3.29 and 29th in save percentage at .893. In comparison to last season’s 2.71 GAA (17th) and .911 save percentage (17th), you can explain this season’s 29-27-10 record in those drops alone.

A frustrated coach Lindy Ruff lit into the goalies a week ago and said they were the main source of the problem

“The goaltending performance doesn’t match the effort in the team right now,” Ruff said after a 5-4 OT loss to Colorado where Kari Lehtonen struggled. “You need goaltending, it’s as simple as that.”

Lehtonen has surprisingly posted a 26-13-10 record on the heels of a 33-20-10 mark in 2013-14. But his GAA has gone from 2.41 last season to 2.98 this season and his save percentage has dropped from .919 to .905.

In addition, the eye test says he’s not playing well. His glove is unpredictable, and his confidence looks shot. He backs in too far on breakaways, and he often scrambles too much on scrums. While he’s been very open to discussing the issues this season, he said after being pulled against Florida Thursday that he needs to clear his mind of bad thoughts.

“I’m done thinking about what just happened,” Lehtonen said. “I just have to get rest and have a good practice. I think I’m thinking too much sometimes, and now I’m going to try not to.”

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