Lehtonen leaves for conditioning stint at AHL Chicago

Lehtonen can stay with Chicago until Feb. 6. The Wolves play seven games in the two-week period. Lehtonen said after playing Saturday, his schedule will be determined on a day-to-day basis.

Lehtonen required surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back in July. In October, he had a second surgery to remove edges of bone that were applying pressure to nerve roots in two locations in his back.

Lehtonen, the team’s first-round draft pick (No. 2 overall) in 2002, has a 94-83-17 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage in 204 NHL games, all with the Thrashers. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder holds franchise records by a goaltender for games played (204), wins, save percentage and shutouts (14).

“[The hardest part was] not being able to play games,” Lehtonen said of his lengthy rehabilitation. “That’s the fun part as a hockey player. [It was tough] going to the rink and knowing I’m not going to play for a couple more months. You work hard every day and it’s frustrating when you can’t get any reward playing-wise. It’s been a long ride and hopefully now it’s over.”

Lehtonen has been practicing with the Thrashers for several weeks. However, he could only do so much to get in game shape.

“At this point, I don’t think he’s in the very best of condition but you get to the point where you hit a bit of a wall and he’s got to play games to get into condition,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “You can run all you want and ride Stairmaster and skate as much as you want in practice but it won’t get you in game shape.”

This won’t be Lehtonen’s first trip to Chicago. He has a 60-31-4 mark in 98 career outings with the Wolves from 2003-05 plus a two-game conditioning stint in 2007. His 60 wins and eight shutouts with Chicago rank second in franchise history behind Wolves general manager Wendell Young’s 169 victories and 16 shutouts.

Notes

Thrashers defenseman Christoph Schubert will miss two to four weeks with a lower-body injury, according to Anderson. Schubert was placed on the injured reserve list on Wednesday. Despite an available roster spot, Anderson said it was unlikely that the team would call up a player from Chicago. ... Center Nik Antropov was given the day off from practice on Friday. ... After the Thrashers' power-play went 0-for-6 in a 5-2 loss to Carolina Thursday, the team spent the majority of Friday's practice on the special team. ... A day later, Anderson was still unhappy with the team's performance against the Hurricanes, who own the NHL's worst record and won away from home for only the fifth time all season. "There are always going to be games where you don't do your best," Anderson said. "But at home, against a team that is below you [in the standings], we let them come in and do whatever they wanted. We didn't play with intensity. We didn't establish ourselves saying, 'Hey, if guys want to win this game, you are going to have to take it from us.' "