The Dallas Stars rallied around Kari Lehtonen in the wake of their 6-1 Game 7 loss to the St. Louis Blues, in which Lehtonen allowed three goals (four if you count the one that was stricken from the record on review) in the first period before being pulled in favor of Antti Niemi.
"I don't think there was any issue,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said when asked about Lehtonen’s performance, per Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. “There were some tough plays by us. We wouldn't be here without him. I don't think we need to be questioning his play tonight."
When told of Benn’s and other similar comments, Lehtonen offered that the sentiment might help down the road, but not now—which is understandable, given that they had just lost a Game 7 by a margin of 6-1.
"I'm sure that's going to make me feel better later on. It's just tough that we all let it up,” Lehtonen said. “There is a heck of a team in this room. It was awesome to come and battle every night. Like I said before, it ended so quickly, all the momentum and all the hope that we could keep going a couple of hours ago and now we don't have it.”
