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Stars put Lehtonen on IR, will miss at least 2 games

Kari Lehtonen

Kari Lehtonen #32 of the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on February 8, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. (February 7, 2013 - Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images North America)

The Dallas Stars have announced that 29-year-old starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen is on the injured reserve list with a groin injury.

Lehtonen has been a key part of the Dallas Stars’ solid start. He’s posted a 7-2-1 record, 2.12 GAA, and .934 save percentage in 12 contests in 2013.

The move is retroactive to Friday, when the Finnish netminder left the Stars 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in the first period. That means that he will be ineligible to play tonight against Calgary and versus Vancouver on Thursday.

“He is still day-to-day, lower body,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “We looked at him today, and certainly he has had that injury before in Phoenix last year, but this one is not as severe.”

He was sidelined for 12 contests due to a groin injury early in the 2011-12 campaign.

With Lehtonen unavailable, Richard Bachman will play between the pipes today. Bachman has a 3.89 GAA and .861 save percentage in four games this season.