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Friday, November 23, 2007
Lehtonen ready for rehab in Chicago
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s still hard to believe that when I looked over the Eastern Conference standings today, the Thrashers are in playoff position. That’s remarkable. Now the next challenge for the Thrashers will be sustaining it. Sometimes when you’re working towards a goal, like say .500, it’s human nature to ease your foot off the gas once you get there.
The Thrashers showed no signs of that against the Caps, and when you ask them about it, there’s a reminder that .500 was never the goal of this team. This is a team that had it’s sights set on the playoffs, and advancing.
The other danger this team faces is when Kari Lehtonen is ready to return. Things are going well, so you have to be careful not to disrupt that by putting Lehtonen between the pipes before he’s ready. That’s probably the biggest reason why Kari is headed to Chicago for a conditioning rehab assignment starting on Sunday. Don Waddell said this morning that he’d like Lehtonen to get about three games with the Wolves as he works himself back into game shape.
In talking to Kari, he seemed fine with the decision. He said he thought it would be fun to go to Chicago, where he still has friends and get some game action. He said he’s itching to get in a game after nearly a week of practicing. There’s still no pain, and he said his timing is improving. The Wolves play Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week, so if Kari plays three games with them and is ready to return that puts him back in Atlanta the first full week of December which was right with projections made when he was first hurt.
Johan Hedberg has quietly put together a heck of a string of games here. If Moose wins tonight that would be his fifth consecutive, tying a franchise record held by Lehtonen. Hedberg will start tonight against New Jersey. Ken Klee called the last game against New Jersey the low point of the season. You remember that game right? It looked like the Thrashers were going to earn their first win of the season but couldn’t hold on against a struggling Devils team. I expect a much different game tonight.
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