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Lehtonen, Thrashers blank Avalanche

Mar 11, 2009 - 5:29 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- Kari Lehtonen made 35 saves to record his third shutout of the season as the Atlanta Thrashers skated to their third straight win, a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

Rookie defenseman Zach Bogosian and Todd White scored late in the second period for the Thrashers, who have surrendered just two goals during their winning streak.

Lehtonen turned aside nine shots in the opening session, 10 in the second and 16 in the third to complete his 14th career blanking.

"I got good bounces there - three posts," Lehtonen said. "Sometimes it just goes that way. Overall, it was a good win."

"I thought Kari was solid all throughout the game," Thrashers coach John Anderson added. "He had a great game the game before. So when you're getting great goaltending, it makes the rest of the game a little easier."

It was Lehtonen's second shutout in three games. The Finn made 25 saves in Thursday's 2-0 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens.

We've been playing very well the last couple weeks as a team," Lehtonen said. "Everyone feels comfortable, and if I give up a bad rebound, our guys are usually first to the puck, so that's been helping me a lot.

"I've been more comfortable and confident for myself and this whole group of guys. I think that's helped."

Peter Budaj stopped 32 shots for the Avalanche, who have lost seven of their last eight contests. Colorado (29-37-1) owns the worst record in the Western Conference.

"I think we were on our heels most of the night," Avalanche center Paul Stastny said. "So we have to be ready for not just the first period, but all three periods."

Bogosian opened the scoring with 2:28 left in the middle period, notching his first career game-winner. The third overall pick in last June's draft has four goals in his first campaign.

White doubled the advantage with one second remaining in the session. Rich Peverley added an empty-netter with 63 seconds left in the third to seal the win.

Captain Ilya Kovalchuk collected two assists for Atlanta.

"We had our two big guns going, and the rest of us are kicking in something a little extra," Anderson said. "Our work ethic has been wonderful. One thing about having a young team right now is, they are trying to do what the coaching staff wants them to do, and that's truly appreciated by us."