AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > February > 21
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Is there a goalie controversy brewing?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flew in this morning from Carolina, and traveled straight to Duluth to get to the bottom of the goalie situation. Big props to Delta for getting me to and from Raleigh exactly on time, because I scheduled this trip without a minute to spare. Got to Duluth for practice right at noon, which was when it began.
The big news? Johan Hedberg will be in net against Tampa Bay, and Bob Hartley is open to riding his suddenly hot goalie as far as he’ll take him. I asked Bob when we’d see Kari again, and his answer was, “That’s up to Johan.” So if he plays as well on Thursday night as he did on Tuesday night, we might be seeing more of Hedberg.
Once again, Kari Lehtonen took the news well. He said he doesn’t care who is in net, as long as the team makes the playoffs. Kari and Johan have a good relationship, so I can’t see Lehtonen ripping Hartley for playing Johan any time soon.
Brad Larsen skated before practice - his lower body injury is more like a middle body injury. He said his groin was bothering him, and he didn’t want it to become a major issue. He felt good today, so there’s a chance we’ll see him back in the lineup. But as he pointed out, if the team plays as well as it did against Carolina, Hartley might not be inclined to change the lineup.
We’ll be addressing it in the paper on Thursday, but do you guys agree with Hedberg playing again, especially considering Lehtonen’s confidence issues? Is this sending the young goalie the wrong message?
I guess none of that matters if the Thrashers win again.
