Quick Hitters Khudobin, Stars beat Knights to take 3-1 lead in West final

EDMONTON, Alberta – Anton Khudobin gloved the puck out of the air on Shea Theodore’s shot at the most intense moment of the game like it was part of a leisurely morning practice.

“I just tried to find the puck and react to it,” Khudobin said with the same nonchalance. “I don’t know if it’s luck or whatever. Let’s call it luck.”

It’s not luck. It’s a goaltender so locked in that he has the Dallas Stars one victory away from the Stanley Cup Final.

Khudobin made three of his 32 saves on a crucial 5-on-3 penalty kill late, Joe Pavelski and Jamie Benn scored in the second period and the Stars locked down on the Vegas Golden Knights in the final minutes to win Game 4 of the Western Conference final 2-1 Saturday night.

The Stars won despite being outshot 33-20 and don’t seem to mind that they trail Vegas 130 shots to 92 because Khudobin has stopped so many of them.

“He’s going to battle right till the end,” coach Rick Bowness said. “That’s why the guys love playing in front of him. When he was reading the play like he was tonight, he’s making a lot of tough saves look easy. But that’s what he is: He’s a battler, he’s a competitive guy and he’s keeping us in every game.”

Ehlinger leads No. 14 Texas romp over UTEP

AU STIN, Texas – Sam Ehlinger threw a 78-yard touchdown to Joshua Moore on the first play and had a career-high five scoring passes in the first half, as No. 14 Texas rolled to a 59-3 season-opening win over UTEP Saturday night.

Ehlinger finished with 426 yards. He left the game midway through the third quarter with Colt McCoy’s single-game records for yards (470) and touchdowns (six) easily within reach had he stayed on the field.

Moore’s first touchdown since 2018 came on an inside route when he burst past one diving defender and outran two more with an easy path to the end zone. Ehlinger’s final touchdown pass came on a 6-yard toss to walk-on Kai Money in the final seconds of the first half.

Texas’ original schedule had the Longhorns visiting defending national champion LSU this weekend, in a rematch of a 2019 classic. But that game was scrapped as the

Big 12 and Southeastern Conference retooled their schedules amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Texas coach Tom Herman called just getting on the field after an offseason dominated by the virus disruptions “cathartic.”

“We had zero COVID issues leading up to this game ... Hope it stays that way,” Herman said. “Really proud of the way our team handled their business leading up to this game.”

With social distancing rules and limits in place, Texas announced a crowd of 15,337 at a stadium that typically holds close to 100,000. The school required students using a special student season ticket package to pass a rapid COVID-19 test on Friday before they could go to the game. The school paid for the tests and reported 95 positives out of 1,198 administered. No other ticket holders were required to be tested.

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