Devils at Stars
THE STORY: The mystery of Kari Lehtonen finally solved, perhaps there is now a blue print to beating the hottest goalie of the first month. Lehtonen had won his first seven starts before finally falling on Thursday, 5-3, to the Los Angeles Kings. Lehtonen’s stellar play had helped the Stars jump out to a quick lead in the Pacific Division despite an offense that ranks in the bottom third of the NHL in scoring. Even further below Dallas in the all-important scoring category are the New Jersey Devils, who are averaging just over two tallies a game and have dropped three of four. Martin Brodeur has made only two starts while dealing with shoulder trouble and is unlikely to be back for Saturday, leaving Johan Hedberg to make a sixth straight start. Hedberg will try to stop Loui Eriksson and company when the Devils visit the Stars.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (New Jersey), KTXA (Dallas)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (4-3-1): New Jersey is closing out a four-game road trip with the Stars after falling to the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-3, on Thursday. Hedberg got little help from the defense, facing a season-high 42 shots. Ilya Kovalchuk, whose slow start last season doomed the Devils, has gone two games without a point.
ABOUT THE STARS (7-3-0): Lehtonen had his goals-against average jump from 1.54 to 1.84 with Thursday’s performance. He surrendered four goals in the contest, doubling his previous season high. The Stars still rank as one of the top defensive teams in the game, allowing an average of 2.2 goals and killing off 85.7 percent of penalties.
OVERTIME:
1. Dallas played to an announced crowd of 8,443 on Thursday, though only half that amount actually made it into the seats. With the World Series ending on Friday night, perhaps they can draw some of the local attention off baseball and back to hockey.
2. Lehtonen is 6-5-0 with a 3.02 GAA in 11 career starts against the Devils.
3. New Jersey left wing Patrik Elias has 19 points in 17 career games against Dallas.