Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen made history after defeating the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.
Lehtonen stopped 31 shots to become only the 32nd goalie in NHL history to win 300 career games. Lehtonen is only the second Finnish-born hockey player to amass 300 wins in a career — Miikka Kiprusoff has 319 wins in his 12-year career.
Kari on his 300th win: "Of course it was in the back of my head, it would be nice to get it right away. It was a nice feeling." pic.twitter.com/yakKuXvenI
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 14, 2017
Lehtonen maintains a 4-4-1 record this season. Despite sharing the net with Ben Bishop, who has the 23-11 edge in starts, the 34-year-old veteran's attention isn't on personal achievements.
"I'm sure later on when the career is over, I'll appreciate it more," Lehtonen told the Dallas Morning News.
The goals are flowing and things look just as good at the other end of the ice. Kari with a point blank save on Tavares. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/8j111O6qOV
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 14, 2017
The Stars are in the middle of an extremely tight Central Division. Dallas has 37 points this season and seven points separate them from either the division's pit or the pinnacle. At this point of the season, it may go either way with injuries plaguing division-leading St. Louis Blues. Prior to its Eastern Conference road trip, Dallas was riding a three-game losing streak. A trip out east is what the Stars needed to seperate them from the divisional circus. They seem to be enjoying the trip.
Dallas has won two straight led by Lehtonen. With two games left on the road slate, which is a back-to-back in New Jersey and Philadelphia, Lehtonen can surely expect an opportunity to reach 301 wins.