FRISCO -- Ask any Dallas Stars fan for their thoughts on Kari Lehtonen's play for much of this season and you might get one of several different responses: a simple grit of the teeth, an expletive or two or a simple roll of the eyes.
But over his last three starts, Lehtonen has played well, going 3-0-0 with a goals-against-average of 1.66 and a .957 save percentage.
Lehtonen's last start came on Friday against the Florida Panthers, a game remembered more for Dallas losing Patrick Eaves, Ales Hemsky and leading scorer Tyler Seguin to injury. No. 32 stopped all 37 shots he faced from the Panthers at American Airlines Center late last week to earn his fourth shutout of the season and 31st of his career.
And after the struggles he experienced earlier in the year, seeing Lehtonen rise up and take command of the paint is a good sign for a Stars team that is teetering to just remain in contention for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
"Well, yeah I'm happy how last couple have gone, but still working hard trying to figure it out, how to keep it going," Lehtonen said after practice on Monday. "Last two games I've been trying to keep it simpler and not be as aggressive maybe as I was before. That seems to be working. Hopefully that keeps going. You always need some good bounces and I've been getting them lately, so hopefully it stays the same."
One issue the veteran Finnish netminder saw in his game prior to this stretch was that as things started going awry, he would put undue pressure on himself and try to do too much, an approach which only led to further issues.
"The game's a lot easier when you get some success. When things go bad, you start making more problems than figuring solutions," Lehtonen said. "You're kind of trying to do different things and usually you end up doing way too many things that don't help you."
This patient approach has been a welcome sight not only for Stars fans who still hope their team can make the playoffs for a second straight year, but for second-year Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff.
Ruff called out his No. 1 netminder after he allowed four goals in a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at AAC on Feb. 5. But since that tough night at the hands of the highest-scoring team in the National Hockey League, Lehtonen has been much better.
And naturally, Ruff is pleased.
"Yeah, he might have looked as patient as I've seen him this last game (against Florida), where really under control. There was a calmness about him. When I see that, I know he's usually locked into playing well," Ruff said.
Lehtonen did not start in Saturday's loss to the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center, that start instead went to newly-acquired Jhonas Enroth, who made his Dallas debut in that Central Division loss to the Avs.
But Kari does figure to get the nod between the pipes on Tuesday night as Dallas will face the St. Louis Blues at Scotttrade Center.
And with the Stars currently sitting five points behind the Calgary Flames for that coveted second wild card spot in the West, Lehtonen, who is 14-11-2 with a 2.05 goals-against in 19 career games against the Blues, doesn't have to state the obvious in just how important this game is at this point in the season, one where the Stars have just 26 games remaining.
"Yeah, every game is big right now. For me, there's not any extra (meaning) if it's against St. Louis or Florida right now. It's just those two points that we really need. Of course, when you don't get the two points, it's nice if it's not against a divisional team, but we're outside (the playoffs) right now so every game just keeps getting bigger and bigger so it doesn't really matter who we play," Lehtonen said. "Everybody needs to be sharp and ready to go."
So the question has to be asked, what is the source of this newfound patience? Well, the backstory on that is rather interesting.
On Feb. 7, the Stars were playing at the Buffalo Sabres. Lehtonen did not get the start that night in upstate New York as Ruff started backup Anders Lindback, who ended up being traded for Enroth last week.
Lehtonen paid close attention to how Enroth handled himself in a what ended up being a 3-2 win for the Sabres, taking some of what he saw from someone who he had no idea would become his teammate in short order and incorporating that into his own game.
Thus far, the results speak for themselves.
"I enjoy watching him out there. He has taken that playing patient style to a whole different level. He makes some standout saves," Lehtonen said of Enroth. "That (when we played in Buffalo) was the time I was struggling and I saw him play extra patient there, just waiting on every shot. Next day after practice, I adopted that approach. It's funny that now he's here and get to see him."
Lehtonen admits he hasn't told Enroth that he was the source for his rediscovered patience inside the crease, but he and longtime Stars goaltending coach Mike Valley have discussed how being more patient can lead to tangible results ever since the first practice after that loss to the Sabres.
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