Nov 6, 2009

NHL's Thrashers Starting Goaltender Out For 6 To 8 Weeks

Atlanta's Lehtonen Out At Least Two Months Due To Back Surgery

The NHL's Atlanta Thrashers announced on Wednesday that they would be losing starting goalie Kari Lehtonen for at least another six to eight weeks after having a second back surgery Friday in Rochester, New York. Lehtonen had his first surgery on July 20th to repair a herniated disc in his back, but he hasn't been able to recover enough to play at all so far this season. As it turns out, edges of bone from the first surgery were applying pressure to nerve roots in his back in two separate locations rendering him unable to return to the ice, and therefore, were required to be surgically removed. Provided that all heals well this time around, the Thrashers expect him to be able to return to action in approximately 2 months.

The inability of Lehtonen to return in time for the beginning of the season seemed like a sure bet to be a major problem for the Thrashers to have to overcome if they were going to have any legitimate betting odds chance of being a competitive force in the Southeast division. However, that really has not been the case thus far as the Thrashers have been able to remain competitive in his absence by playing .500 hockey and holding on to the third place spot in the division standings. Atlanta's 22 year old Ondrej Pavelec has answered the challenge and been able to perform much better than originally expected by accruing a 5-3-1 record as the team's starting goalie. This has been a welcome surprise to the franchise as the youngster is a pretty good bet to only get better with more playing experience which he will obviously get for at least the next two months. Even if Lehtonen does return to action at full strength when projected, the Thrashers will have the luxury of having two quality goalies to choose from on any given night.

By Bryan Jackson
Staff Writer
Betsportsweb.com
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