"This was a good start, but it still doesn't take away that we lost four in a row," said Lehtonen, who finished with 32 saves. "We have to build on this and have a big game coming up on Thursday."
Pundits can talk all the smack they want about Lehtonen, but to offer a soundbite of this magnitude to the media shows that Kari is growing, both as a player, and as a person. This is a far cry from his "I didn't learn anything from playoffs and want to just forget them" statement. There are so many things his growth can be attributed to - Waddell's hands-off treatment, leaving Kari in the capable hands of Stevie Weeks (Mystery Alaska's best sniper!), or perhaps the influence of the more veteran players on the team, including Hedberg, Recchi, Perrin, Kozlov. Or perhaps it's the influence of having his brother in town - familial ties are strong and run deep, and Kari has always looked up to Kimmo.
Whatever the reason, this bodes well for both Kari and the team. He seems to be regaining his confidence, his timing is great, and he's playing almost effortlessly, all of which will be needed, in spades, when the Sens pay a visit to Blueland tomorrow.
Game day preview to come.
19 December 2007
Showing more maturity each day
1 comment:
Maturity's one of those things that seems to evade some, and when it strikes it can be utterly inexplicable. But it's good to hear Kari making a statement of that caliber, for sure; It doesn't hurt to have the talent combined with the maturity!
Post a Comment