Sleeper Watch

By Thomas Allen

Do you know who has the second-best save percentage in the NHL right now? It’s not Luongo or Brodeur, but the Atlanta Trashers’ Johan Hedburg instead at .933 in 13 games, starting for what I think is one of the worst defensive (and best offensive) teams in the league. Hedburg is 7-3 this season and is tied for fifth in the league with a 2.15 GAA. As Kari Lehtonen remains out and has not resumed skating, Hedburg is competing for the job with a goalie 14 years his junior, Ondrej Pavelec. Pavelec has allowed three or more goals in 10 of his past 13 appearances and four or more in seven of those games.

Hedburg has only had three seasons in his long career with a save percentage over .900, so this year seems to be an aberration, but many of those seasons were spent behind a porous defense in Atlanta, so maybe we’re seeing him get his first chance to play with a good team. His first full-time job as a starter was in Pittsburgh in the first season after Jagr was traded to the Capitals, and Hedburg has played a backup role ever since (Vancouver, Dallas before Atlanta). If Hedburg continues to play at a high level, Atlanta will likely not rush Lehtonen back into the lineup to keep him healthy for the playoffs.

Atlanta’s upcoming schedule is very rough and includes two games against New Jersey, two against Montreal, and two on the road at Boston, but even if Hedburg allows three goals, he’s likely to earn your team a win with help from the high-powered Thrashers offense.

<i>Thomas is a big-time DC sports fan. You can find him in the forums posting as</i> skinsfan.