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Tuesday, 21 February 2012 11:53

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Interesting move here.

The Penguins have recalled goaltender Brad Thiessen from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

Thiessen, 25, has appeared in 37 AHL games this season and has a 20-14-2 record,  a 2.88 goals-against average, .885 save percentage and two shutouts.

Last season, Thiessen won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL's top goaltender.

Brent Johnson is not taking part in today's morning skate. There is no word yet regarding his status.

UPDATE: According to Dan Bylma, Johnson is "not feeling well." Thiessen will serve as Marc-Andre Fleury's backup.

(Photo: Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Comments (4)

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written by AHab35, February 21, 2012 - 10:29 AM

This seems like potentially the end of Johnson in Pittsburgh. I'm not sure what happened to him this year. He was brilliant almost every start last season and through training camp. Then he just fell apart. Unfortunate because when he's on his game he's the perfect back-up in my opinion.

I know Thiessen had a great season last year and stats can be deceiving. That said, I he is something like 35th in the AHL in GAA and I did not find a single goalie in the top 40 who had a lower save percentage.

In short, his numbers are off the charts bad this year. Not encouraging as a solution.

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written by bastage42, February 21, 2012 - 10:45 AM

Maybe they're going to send Johnson to the Baby Pens on a conditioning stint, get him some regular games to find his rhythm. I can't see them putting him on waivers, though you never know. He's been a great team guy, but business is business. I hope the best for him, whatever happens.

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written by TK, February 21, 2012 - 11:05 AM

Ty Conklin was put on waivers. Maybe this is a prelude to picking him up.

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written by AHab35, February 21, 2012 - 03:01 PM

My comment above may have jumped the gun a bit. My wife had the twitter update on Johnny about 20 seconds after I hit "add comment."

I'm still highly doubtful that Johnson will be the back-up goaltender by next Tuesday. Bylsma seems to have lost confidence in him. When a coach loses confidence in a goaltender, he's usually gone. I doubt Conklin will be the solution although who knows.

I am curious about Thiessen though. 88.5% save percentage in the minors? That's brutal. How does a guy go from top goaltender in the league to that?

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