Khudobin stopped 31 shots in a 2-1 win over the Maple Leafs that was important for a lot of reasons.

The Stars have been a bit of a sweaty mess trying to overcome their road demons, and there was a real chance they could have spiraled into a collapse after starting this six-game road trip with a loss in Detroit. But Ben Bishop stood on his head Tuesday in Montreal and Anton Khudobin maybe topped that performance Thursday in Toronto, and now this team has two consecutive road wins and a 7-5-0 record.

TORONTO -- As Daryl Reaugh has said on so many occasions, goaltending is the Axe body spray of the NHL.

One, the Stars won consecutive road games for the first time in a long time.

Two, this team had a lot of Toronto families in the audience, and being able to celebrate with them was a huge positive experience.

Video: Khudobin stands tall to help Stars edge Leafs

And three, the Stars really are starting to play better as a team.

"I thought we did a much better job tonight," coach Jim Montgomery said. "Our forecheck was better, our D-men's gap was better, I didn't see anybody get in behind us tonight. So those things were really good, and the more the game went on, the more we won 1-on-1 battles."

That was huge for a team that was struggling with confidence and struggling to find consistency and belief. So much of what Montgomery wants to instill requires reacting and not thinking. That's a tough state of mind to get to when you have fear.

But the goalies are like beautiful security blankets right now. If you make a mistake, the goalie can simply wipe it away. When no goals are scored, nobody is pointing fingers about what went wrong. You reload and move forward with positive momentum.

Khudobin did that in the first period, turning away key chances, getting help from the pipes (as Bishop did in Montreal) and keeping the game scoreless. It was the kind of thing that really helped when you consider six of the Stars players are from the Toronto area and had family in attendance. It was the kind of thing that really helped when you consider the Stars were prone to a bit of emotion on this night.

Video: DAL@TOR: Khudobin, Stars fend off last-second chances

"The second period was the first time I've felt like everybody is starting to relish their role and understand how everyone is wanting to play," Montgomery said of the calm that was washing over the team. "The players are starting to gain confidence."

And at a time that could have been a little bit shaky. Khudobin had only played two games this season, the last was Oct. 16. The veteran backup said he knows his role, but that he also was a little curious to see how he would perform. When he jumped right to Mach 5 in the first period, it was comforting.

"I tried to throw everything away and just follow the puck," Khudobin said. "Luckily, I saw a couple first shots and I felt confidence right away."

So did his teammates. Tyler Seguin, who tallied two assists, embraced a defensive role, and said he understands just how much the goalies have meant.

"The last two wins, we've needed our goalie to make big saves," Seguin said. "We need to stop doing that."

Video: DAL@TOR: Khudobin reaches back to deny Tavares

That's a strong statement from a player who wants to get better even after a big win. In a perfect world, they will get better. The road trip doesn't get any easier, but the Stars will attack games in Washington and Boston and Columbus with a different mindset. They were already a different team by the end of the game.

"You need your goalies, you need your special teams. The penalty kill was great again tonight," Montgomery said. "Now if your 5-on-5 play continues to build, we can develop into a good hockey team."

Sort of like the young man who bathes in Axe body spray when he's headed for the prom, and learns he doesn't need as much as he gets to college. It's just part of growing up.

"I thought that was a good confidence win for our group to show ourselves that we don't need to win 5-1, 4-1," Benn said. "Especially on the road, let's make it greasy, let's make it as ugly as possible and find a way to win these games by one goal."

Because right now, they believe the goaltending is going to help them smell pretty darn good in the end.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.