Is Kari Lehtonen season-opener ready?

Kari Lehtonen hopes he is ready for the season opener this week

If the Dallas Stars have any hope of remaining a dominant force in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, they need to be at one hundred percent heading into the season.

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The team already has a number of question marks surrounding its blue line, making any long-term injuries to the team’s number one netminder something to avoid. It may be a little late for avoidance, though- Kari Lehtonen is recovering from a monstrous head-butt that left him mildly concussed in the pre-season, and hasn’t looked his best for the team’s season opener this week.

Kari Lehtonen technically only missed a few subsequent practices following the head-butt, but looked worse for the wear during the team’s intra-squad scrimmage in Cedar Park, Texas this past Saturday.

Should Kari Lehtonen end up needing more time off- or should his play have been permanently affected by the hit- the team’s alternatives are less than stellar. Backup netminder Anders Lindback has been inconsistent at best since joining the team this summer, and is coming off a four-game post-season sweep for the Tampa Bay Lightning in which he skated in place of the team’s number one goaltender, Ben Bishop.

The team has yet to re-sign UFA Tim Thomas, but picking him back up could be their only option in this kind of circumstance. Dallas had best be saying their prayers- because without Kari Lehtonen, the team’s playoff chances look like less of a guarantee.

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