Any word on when he is coming back? Will he still be the starter?
From the AJC...
Quote:
Anderson said goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who is recovering from off-season back surgery, is still listed as day-to-day. Anderson said the team had no timetable for Lehtonen’s return
we better hope he comes back very very soon or our season is over. Pavs is just not starting material .. i pray Lehts can get back in time and save our season . I dont care if our offense scores 5 goals a game , there will be nights when we need to rely on the goalie and Pavs is not reliable. I hope Pavs can prove me wrong but thats a very high hope .
we better hope he comes back very very soon or our season is over. Pavs is just not starting material .. i pray Lehts can get back in time and save our season . I dont care if our offense scores 5 goals a game , there will be nights when we need to rely on the goalie and Pavs is not reliable. I hope Pavs can prove me wrong but thats a very high hope .
Pavs has been pretty decent for us in the first three games. He's actually surprised me at how much better he looks compared to how he looked last season when he started a few games. He hasn't done anything to jeopardize the team's chances of winning yet so unless he turns into Cristobal Huet (too early to make that joke?) you just have to count on him to make the big saves. And he's done that, btw. Our team should have more goals scored against it then it has but he has come up with some big saves thus far.
I'm not ready to put an entire game in Pavs' hands and let him steal one for us, but his stats are respectable. He's around the middle of the league in save % with .912% (not incredible, but respectable) and his GAA is 3.02. You can't expect ANY goalie that plays for this team in its current style of play to be able to pull off something below a 2.50 GAA. The offense-first nature of this team won't allow that to happen, but that's ok. We're still 2-1 and we have a real test coming up on friday against a hot Devils team. Like I said in another thread, he's our best shot right now and you just gotta have faith in him.
As far as Lehtonen goes, I love the guy as a goaltender but I think when he comes back from this injury it may seriously be his last shot at remaining the top goaltender on this team. But that still depends on how Pavelec does between now and then. I've always defended Lehtonen 100% from anyone who attacked him on these boards, but even I am growing weary of having a band-aid goaltender all the time. He's got to stay healthy or he may be getting a foot in the ass by management AND the fans. I'm not even sure if it would be the right move to immediately give him the starting job, especially if we keep winning with PAvelec in net. I can't justify giving him all the starts and possibly destroying what little confidence Pavelec has built up in the first few games. If he doesn't recover and return to good form, then we may end up having a ****** goalie due to injuries and a ****** goalie with confidence problems that keeps him from playing well. ... Wait... Why does that sound familiar?
Pavs has made 95 saves on 104 shots for a 91.3% save rating. That's in 3 games...Not bad numbers!
That's very good in fact. The only thing with Pav is that we need to score at least 3 goals to have a chance to win most of the night. But that could be improve over time. Also that make him a very good back up.
Call me bias but if I have a choice between Lehtonen and Pav, I'll still choose Lehtonen. But as Illusion say, I'm start to be really &^&^#(*()# by his injuries. Hop this one will be last for a long while.
I'm still not sold on Pavelec. He continues to overplay the puck, wander out of the crease, and drop too early leaving the top shelf open. The defense around him saved his ass in the first two games when he was flopping around, but Ottawa finally cashed in twice on the open net.
I'm still not sold on Pavelec. He continues to overplay the puck, wander out of the crease, and drop too early leaving the top shelf open. The defense around him saved his ass in the first two games when he was flopping around, but Ottawa finally cashed in twice on the open net.
I completely agree with you. Pavelec makes plays way more exciting than they have to be.
John Anderson was on XM Home Ice this afternoon (Wed) and he said that Lehtonen skated last week and had a "setback". but he mentioned that Manny Legacy was in Chicago so he wasn't worried about goaltending. He also talked about Chelios in Chicago and said you can never have enough defensemen.
Personally, I doubt that Kari plays more than 10 more games in his Atlanta career.
As of now (injuries aside), if it comes down to it, I still would absolutely prefer Lehtonen in net.
But this looks like a situation in which Pavelec will have to play himself out of the #1 role. Doesn't make me feel anymore comfortable, because I'm still having difficulties settling down on the notion that Pavelec is truly ready for the #1 job.
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THe commentary about Legace and Chelios down in Chicago....... Remember they've signed Chicago AHL contracts. Unless the Thrashers sign them, they can't be called up.... and frankly, that is a good thing in the case of Chelios. I don't want him near this team.
As others have said, Lehtonen is listed day to day, but I'd be shocked were he ready to play a game before mid-November.
I've been labeled a Lehtonen hater on these boards in the past, and I guess I'm OK with that moniker. I think he's too soft, too ill prepared, and too lackadaisical to ever be a true no. 1 goalie in the NHL. That's not to say that Pavelec necessarily is, but here is a recent Playboy-style interview with Pavs.
That kind of mentality, the guy who wants to be facing plenty of shots and wanting to work for everything he has, is the perfect fit for this team. So far, he's done a fine job, as he was solid in the only two games that Atlanta fans were able to see. Sure, Ondrej the Giant has a lot to work on, such as playing the puck and positioning, but he knows that. Can he keep that pace and solidify himself as a no. 1 NHL goalie? I don't know. But for the moment, I'm very happy with him as the Thrashers' goaltender, and comments from the staff and players (Anderson, Waddell, Hainsey, etc.) intimate the same.
This seems like a big issue. I am not sure exactly what procedure he had, but I know a few people that had major back surgery and were back and better then ever.....and a whole lot quicker the Kari.
This seems like a big issue. I am not sure exactly what procedure he had, but I know a few people that had major back surgery and were back and better then ever.....and a whole lot quicker the Kari.
But Kari had "minor" back surgery, so therefore the opposite is true. It will take forever
According to Ben, from the Thrashers' site, Kovy says Pavelec is the starter with a ton of confidence. Anderson has been reported to have said the same thing, as has Waddell.
Bye, Kari. Nice knowing you. Enjoy Toronto. It's too bad that you were made of glass, because you had amazing potential.
Goaltender Kari Lehtonen is no closer to returning to the Thrashers than he was soon after offseason back surgery.
According to Thrashers general manager Don Waddell, Lehtonen again experienced pain in his legs while rehabbing from July surgery to repair a herniated disc. He recently received another epidural injection to reduce inflammation, and he has stopped skating.
Waddell said Friday that Lehtonen is scheduled for another examination by doctors to determine the next course of action. Waddell said he would not label the current situation a setback.
“When you are dealing with the back, everyone heals at a different rate,” Waddell said. “He is progressing very slowly.”
Lehtonen signed a one-year qualifying offer with the Thrashers during the offseason.
and so it seems as if our goalies falter again ... Kari Lehtonen please return quickly cause i hate losing games that should be won ...
what would you do with Pavelec when Kari comes back from injury? Seriously, Pavelec has been given his shot to take over the starting goaltender position and he has been up to the task thus far. I can't in good conscience say that he deserves to lose that spot when Kari comes back. Kari will have to earn his spot. Not to mention he will probably have to take it slow and not have too much of a workload to see how he feels and how well he plays.
Considering Kari's track record, I'd be VERY surprised if he plays before the Olympic break, and would not be surprised if he misses 3/4 of the season.
Considering Kari's track record, I'd be VERY surprised if he plays before the Olympic break, and would not be surprised if he misses 3/4 of the season.
Right now. I would not be surprised if he missed the entire season.
There is no such thing as minor back surgery. Average minimum recovery time for herniated disc surgery is around 6 months. If the pain is bad enough to require surgery, then that means it's pretty badly injured.
