Lehtonen Solid For Stars in Game 5 Loss

Numbers can be deceiving at times.

The Stars find themselves in a 3-2 series deficit after Saturday’s 4-1 loss in Game 5 to the St. Louis Blues in Dallas. But just like Jason Spezza said after Game 2, you can’t put that on goalie Kari Lehtonen.

Many would see the four goals allowed in the boxscore and say Lehtonen didn’t have a good day. But he actually played pretty good between the pipes.

Lehtonen stopped 18 of 21 shots in Game 5, and was constantly under fire in the second period. The Blues just tee’d off during that frame, throwing 11 shots his way with two of those finding the back of the net. However, it could have been much worse. Lehtonen did have some good saves during that barrage.

But Lehtonen’s counterpart, Brian Elliot, was almost untouchable as the Stars never could really get anything going offensively. Now the Stars have their backs against the wall with one more loss meaning the season is over.

“After losing two in a row we know we have to win two in a row at some point in this series if we want to move on,” said Lehtonen. “We have one last chance so we need to go there and get one and then get another one at home. I’m confident we can do that.”

The last time Lehtonen stepped onto the ice in St. Louis, he was the backbone of the Game 4 overtime thriller that saw the Stars skate away with the win and even the series. Lehtonen stood tall with 24 saves in the win.