"Kari Lehtonen understands where he is in his career, and so do the Stars.

Lehtonen, 26, has battled injury problems and conditioning issues for much of his six NHL seasons, but the Stars believe that if they can get the big goalie on the right track, they can find the player who was taken second overall by Atlanta in the 2002 draft.

Lehtonen will start against the Sharks tonight, his second start since being acquired by the Stars in a Feb. 9 trade that sent prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth-round pick to the Thrashers. Lehtonen allowed six goals on 34 shots in a 6-3 loss March 6 at Pittsburgh and has also allowed three goals in two relief appearances. He is 0-1-0 with a 4.41 goals against average and an .833 save percentage.

But the Stars said they expected some rust. Lehtonen had two back surgeries in the off-season and had not played in an NHL game this season before March 4. They have had him working with goalie coach Mike Valley and strength and conditioning coach J.J. McQueen, and they say they have seen a good deal of progress in a short time.

"It's been a necessity for him, coming off a year-long injury," Stars coach Marc Crawford said. "He's had an extended training camp, and for him, this is game four or five of the season. Unfortunately, it's at a playoff pace, but he's way more ready today than he was coming back from the break."

Lehtonen said he felt behind the pace when he played against the Penguins, as if he were still stuck in October. But this will be his first start at home, and his parents are making their annual visit from Finland to see him play, so there's plenty of motivation.

"Sure, you always want to play well, but I do think it will be different to start at home," he said. "I've been waiting for this, and I'm looking forward to it.""