Montgomery signed a two-year deal and will replace Marc Savard on the Blues' bench.
"My family and I are very grateful to Mr. (Tom) Stillman (owner), Doug (Armstrong, general manager), and Craig (Berube, head coach) for this opportunity to be part of the Blues organization," Montgomery said. "This is an extremely talented group of players and staff and I am looking forward to assisting in any way to help the Blues regain the Stanley Cup."
The Stars fired Montgomery earlier this season for unprofessional conduct. The 51-year-old later admitted he checked into rehab for alcohol addiction less than a month after his dismissal.
Montgomery coached 113 games with Dallas, leading the club to a 63-40-10 record over parts of two seasons. Prior to securing his first NHL coaching job with the Stars, he led the University of Denver to a national championship.
Lehner was stellar throughout the playoffs, and also Fleury performed admirably in his limited opportunities.
Stat
Lehner
Fleury
Rec.
9-7
3-1
GAA
1.99
2.27
SV%
.917
.910
GSAA
0.24
-0.65
"Robin played at an elite level, and Flower played at a very good level," DeBoer said.
Lehner wasn't at his best, though, in the five-game series loss in the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. After recording a 24-save shutout in Game 2, Lehner posted an .884 save percentage in Games 3, 4, and 5.
DeBoer was criticized by Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, earlier in the postseason for choosing Lehner as the starter. Walsh tweeted out an image that implied DeBoer stabbed Fleury in the back. The netminders said they have a great relationship, though.
Lehner is a pending unrestricted free agent and recently denied a report that suggested he and the Golden Knights agreed on a five-year extension, according to Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com. Fleury is signed for two more seasons at an average annual value of $7 million.
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All good things must come to an end. The Tampa Bay Lightning couldn't close it out for us, dropping our Round 3 record to 7-2.
But, at least we have more hockey now.
Tampa Bay Lightning (-150) @ New York Islanders (+130)
Our Lightning bet was hurt by Brayden Point being a surprise scratch for Game 5. The Conn Smythe favorite sat out the contest as the team tries to manage his injury, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said "it's too hard to tell right now" whether Point will be available in Game 6, so it's something to keep an eye on. For my money, though, I expect him to play.
Even without Point, Tampa Bay was comfortably in control of Game 5. The Lightning were expected to score 3.34 goals to just 1.88 for the Islanders - a 64% share - and the discrepancy was even bigger in regulation, with the Lightning controlling 68.1% of the expected goal share. Tampa Bay also created 14 high-danger scoring chances to just seven for New York.
The Lightning completely suffocated the Isles' offense and generated a total of 7.1 expected goals for during the last two games. The Islanders have managed just 4.1 expected goals in that time. Expect Tampa Bay to play with plenty of urgency with the threat of Game 7 looming. The Lightning will put in a complete performance to halt New York's comeback and punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.
It appears the Arizona Coyotes' general manager search may soon be coming to an end.
St. Louis Blues assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Bill Armstrong is the leading candidate for the job, depending on contract negotiations, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
The Coyotes have reportedly interviewed several candidates over the summer - including Pierre McGuire, Sean Burke, and Jason Karmanos - since their previous GM, John Chayka, terminated his contract in July.
Armstrong has been with the Blues organization since 2004, earning the assistant GM title in 2018. The 50-year-old previously spent nine seasons playing in the AHL and IHL and has four years of coaching experience in the AHL and ECHL.
After a season full of ups and downs, the Dallas Stars have now found themselves in the Stanley Cup Final. Despite finishing fourth in the Western Conference, many seemed to underestimate the Stars every step of the way since the beginning of the 2019-20 season. Dallas needed many things to go right to get where it is, so let's take a look at how the club turned a season that started 1-7-1 into a potential championship-winning year.
Roller coaster regular season
Glenn James / National Hockey League / Getty
The Stars' season started almost as poorly as possible. They managed just one win in their opening nine games and were outscored 30-17. After the team suffered its eighth loss in nine matchups, goaltender Anton Khudobin put it as bluntly as possible: "What else can you say? We just got another L, f-----g, I don't know," he said, according to Dallas News' Matthew DeFranks. "We just have to keep going and do something."
Dallas picked things up and came back to earth after the tumultuous start. The Stars were chugging along nicely, but then things got shaken up when head coach Jim Montgomery was fired in December due to unprofessional conduct. Assistant coach Rick Bowness stepped in to take over bench duties.
Under Bowness, the Stars went 20-13-5 - including losing six straight before the season paused on March 12. During Bowness' tenure, Dallas ranked 25th in the league with 69.37 expected goals for at five-on-five and 17th with a 49.34 Corsi For %.
Despite not having a fast-paced, high-octane team like some of the other Cup favorites, the Stars still managed to play their way to one of the NHL's best records.
No scoring? No problem
Joe Puetz / National Hockey League / Getty
The Stars finished the 2019-20 regular season with the third-lowest goals scored in the NHL (178). On the flip side, they allowed the second-lowest goals against (174). While their offense wasn't necessarily clicking at their usual rate, their superb defensive play and goaltending were able to offset that issue.
Rookie Denis Gurianov led the team with 20 goals during the season, followed by Jamie Benn and Roope Hintz with 19 apiece. Tyler Seguin was at the top for points with 50 but managed just 17 goals - his lowest since 2012. With $32.6 million tied up between Alexander Radulov, Joe Pavelski, Seguin, and Benn, the Stars surely hoped to get more than 65 goals combined between the four.
With such little offensive firepower, Dallas needed to step up big time in its defensive play. Khudobin and Ben Bishop combined to create one of the best goaltending tandems. Khudobin even finished the season with the league's best save percentage among qualified goaltenders. The team in front of them undoubtedly helped out, allowing the fifth-lowest high-danger scoring chances against (404).
Taking down a couple of Cup favorites
Dave Sandford / National Hockey League / Getty
The Stars didn't look impressive during the 2020 postseason's round-robin. They dropped two out of three games and were outscored 10-5. Dallas looked ready for another early exit from the playoffs after losing two of the first three contests against the Calgary Flames in Round 1. With the team's back against the wall, they flipped a switch and turned on the jets.
The Stars went on to win three straight against the Flames, outscoring them 14-8 in the process. Their second-round matchup was against the Colorado Avalanche, who many touted as a heavy Cup favorite. Dallas went up 3-1 in the series but didn't end up securing the win until Game 7's overtime. The Stars ended up getting outscored 29-28 in the series. They're now the first team since 1968 to enter the Stanley Cup Final with a negative goal differential in the playoffs, according to Sportsnet Stats.
Dallas faced another tough task in the third round, going up against the mighty Vegas Golden Knights. Despite being outplayed for the majority of the series, the Stars surprisingly took down the Golden Knights in five games. They were outshot in four out of five contests and 166-118 overall, but Khudobin stood tall and helped the Stars advance to their first Cup Final since 2000 thanks to his incredible .950 save percentage in the series.
Dallas' special teams showed up against Vegas, clicking at 23.1% on the power play and 86.4% on the penalty kill. These are both up from their regular-season average and were a big part of why the Stars were able to dispose of Vegas so quickly.
The 34-year-old Khudobin has played some of the best hockey of his career with Bishop out for most of the postseason. Khudobin has played in 19 games in these playoffs, compiling a 12-6-0 record alongside a .920 save percentage. The netminder has been extremely busy at all strengths as he leads the league this postseason in expected goals against (50.33) and high-danger save percentage (.871).
Veteran additions paying off
Dave Sandford / National Hockey League / Getty
The Stars made a few minor additions to their lineup for this season, and they've paid off big time. During the offseason, they brought in two veterans with lots of playoff experience in Pavelski and Corey Perry, both playing pivotal roles during the playoffs. They also added blue-liner Andrej Sekera, who has filled in nicely on the team's third defensive pairing.
General manager Jim Nill showed a huge vow of confidence in Pavelski by signing the then-35-year-old to a three-year, $21 million deal. Pavelski is tied for the team-lead with nine goals in the playoffs, and he's been one of the club's best players. Perry has contributed just six points, but he's been great in a bottom-six role.
"Guerin has not only gotten a lot of calls on Dumba this offseason, he has even actively shopped him," sources told The Athletic's Michael Russo.
The Wild signed defenseman Jonas Brodin to a seven-year, $42 million extension, which includes a no-movement clause, on Tuesday. That makes him, along with fellow blue-liners Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon, automatically protected in next year's expansion draft - and Dumba potentially expendable in a trade.
Dumba has three seasons remaining at a $6 million cap hit, and as a 26-year-old right-handed shot, he should have plenty of suitors.
The Saskatchewan native was drafted seventh overall by the Wild in 2012. He's suited up in 411 games with the organization and is coming off a season in which he recorded 24 points while averaging over 22 minutes per night and chipped in 98 hits and 88 blocks.
Dumba won the King Clancy Trophy earlier in September, an award given annually to the player "who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."
He received the honor after co-founding the Hockey Diversity Alliance and giving an impassioned speech addressing racial issues before a playoff game between the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks. He then became the first NHL player to kneel during the "Star-Spangled Banner."
