Kari Lehtonen NHL debut...

[Crossbar]

...Tonight vs the Panthers should be exciting to see!

Click to read more...

 

[prärievarg]

That's awesome! I wish I could see it.

 

[btn]

I did see it.

It was awesome.

Florida 2
Atlanta 3

The first goal Lehtonen gave up was on a 5 on 3 PP. The second was a light backhand on a wraparound after an Ilya turnover. That got Ilya benched for 10 minutes in the 3rd, then he potted the GWG with 20 seconds left.

Solid puckhandling, good in traffic, made an acrobatic save in the 1st. He did have some trouble with his glove hand, but it never got him in any trouble. Due to the lack of shots by Florida it was hard to judge his rebound control.

I would give him a B+.

 

[rtafts]

I did see it.

It was awesome.

Florida 2
Atlanta 3

The first goal Lehtonen gave up was on a 5 on 3 PP. The second was a light backhand on a wraparound after an Ilya turnover. That got Ilya benched for 10 minutes in the 3rd, then he potted the GWG with 20 seconds left.

Solid puckhandling, good in traffic, made an acrobatic save in the 1st. He did have some trouble with his glove hand, but it never got him in any trouble. Due to the lack of shots by Florida it was hard to judge his rebound control.

I would give him a B+.

Is he going to play anymore games this year? I would think that he should...

 

[Grift69]

Anyone got any video?

 

[btn]

I doubt he plays tomorrow, but he should see some more games. However the Thrashers probably want to make sure he gets plenty of ice time with the Wolves in their coming playoff run.

 

[SwOOsh*]

Good for him, I wish I could've seen this game I was looking forward to his first start... stupid work =P

 

[Heimy]

I give him an A. I thought he was outstanding. He's a good size kid that takes up a lot of net and he was very calm. Like btn said he had NO chance on the 1st one and replays confirm the 2nd one had eyes that found the only crack left uncovered. He allowed very few rebounds. The only knock on him I spotted was he went down kinda fast leaving the top shelf open. But all in all he had a terrific debut. The Southeast just got a little tougher.

 

[Ovechkin#1]

Kari was very solid, loved the save off of horton i think it was. Great mobility on that one. I love my Thrashers and i am so glad that this kid so far is living up to all of his hype. Hope we all get to see him a little more often now.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

I'm split between an A- and a B+ for the performance :p

I think with his size, he could be bigger in net. He's already physically imposing and his positioning IS good. But it could be better (for a goalie of this quality) and that's where I would start. I'd point out Dan Blackburn as an example of a young man who, when he is on his game, is absolutely huge in net despite being physically significantly smaller than Lehtonen.

The rest was fine by me. He does a lot of things well and seems to have the composure of a winner. The raw talent was there and as far as potential, he is still an "A" with an infinite number of "+" signs next to it

I still think he is the best goaltending prospect in the world.

 

[Holly Gunning]

Having just seen him in Chicago two weeks ago and then live last night, I didn't think he played his normal game. I think he's usually better than that. I would judge him more by his next game, not that one. I think nervousness took him off. Not that he doesn't have things to work on, he does, but I didn't think that game was a good indication of what they are.

 

[CREW99AW]

Congrats to Lehtonen

 

[Mizral]

His save off Horton I believe beautiful! I didn't catch the game, but by the hilites, he looked quite good.

Boy, if you think how good this kid could be, the Thrashers are really, really loaded. Especially if Coburn continues his progress he's playing incredible this year for the Winterhawks.