Khudobin plays like an aggressive Cam Ward. He uses his superior skating ability to retain his position, rather than a solid foundation of fundamentals. One way this is manifest is that Khudobin breaks from literally every other goaltender I have seen in that he does not crisscross the crease to increase its texture before each period. He likes having that smooth ice, which plays into his skating ability.
But since he is an athletic goaltender who is constantly moving, and since he has never played this workload in the NHL before, I think he is going to tire out. Now, the Olympic Break will delay that, but the last thing we need is to finally make the playoffs only to have our starter falter due to fatigue.
Ironically, the hope for this season may very well rest on Cam Ward. He doesn't have to outplay Anton, but he must play well enough that Muller will split the games between the two, if for nothing else to prevent Anton from exhaustion. But looking at the standings, we can't afford to simply toss away autolosses due to goaltending, and Muller has to feel the heat to take this team to the promised land.
If Ward can't get it done, we're riding Anton for the rest of the season and (hopefully) into the playoffs. He may burn out well before that, but unless Ward can start returning to form, there is no other option.
