Not sure how many of you stayed up to watch last night’s Stars-Oilers game in Edmonton. Those that did saw a first-star performance from Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen, who really has to be the most underrated netminder in the NHL.
Lehtonen’s 22-save shutout in the Stars’ 3-0 victory bumped his save percentage up to .932. While he’s far from the only regular starter off to an excellent start to the season...
...it doesn’t seem like he gets the attention he deserves.
Maybe that’s because of the market he plays in. Or maybe it’s because he’s signed through 2017-18 so there’s no contract speculating to do. Or maybe it’s because the 29-year-old has been doing what he’s doing for so long that it’s not really a story anymore.
In 393 NHL games, Lehtonen has a save percentage of .915. Among active goalies with at least 10,000 career saves, only Tim Thomas (.921), Henrik Lundqvist (.920), Roberto Luongo (.919) and Tomas Vokoun (.917) have stopped a higher percentage of shots.
That’s pretty good company. Maybe we should talk about the guy a bit more.
Only four goalies have a .914+ save percentage in each of last four years: Lundqvist, Rask, Miller and Lehtonen. Consistency.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) November 14, 2013