How Casey DeSmith Could Play Pivotal Role in Dallas Stars Stanley Cup Run

The Dallas Stars earned an impressive 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday with one part of their game sticking out more than the rest.

Backup netminder Casey DeSmith is a very good goaltender

One that can play a pivotal role in the Stars attempt at a Stanley Cup. We've learned in recent years that the strength of your team's goaltending isn't solely relied upon one person anymore.

This season, DeSmith has a 6-4-1 record with a career-best 2.24 goals against average. The biggest indicator that he is a great fit in Dallas was his performance versus the Flyers. In his seven career starts versus Philadelphia, he allowed three or more goals in four of his starts but when playing with Stars defensive structure he allowed just one goal and made 27 saves.

The Florida Panthers are coming off a Stanley Cup where they had Sergei Bobrovsky do the heavy lifting but were also not worried about an injury as they had Anthony Stolarz as the backup.

Looking back, the tandem was elite and something other teams admired and are looking to infiltrate into their own rosters. The NHL is now a league where you need a pair of good goaltenders and when Scott Wedgewood walked last season, Dallas was left in a bad spot as they had to replace one of the best backups in the game.

They nabbed DeSmith, who was coming off a solid season for the Canucks with a 12-9-6 record and a 2.89 goals against average. The 33-year-old Rochester native spent most of his time in the NHL before Vancouver with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He got to learn from some of Pittsburgh's best goalies like Marc-Andre Fleury, Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray. The group of three NHL-ready goaltenders helped DeSmith grow into a reliable option that the Stars have been able to depend on when regular starter Jake Oettinger needs a much needed day off.

If he can continue to grow while playing the Dallas system and be a reliable in spots when they need him to be, then the Stars will have a leg up over many contenders with question marks between the pipes like the Avalanche, Canucks and Senators.