For Robin Lehner, the situation would have been comical if it had not been so crazy. The blade jumped from the Vegas Golden Knights goaltender’s skater – twice – against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of their quarterfinal series on Tuesday night. At one point, he was shaking on the ice to find his foot when the Blackhawks plundered a shot from the far post. Hockey can be a grace game. But not at this moment.
“I was pretty frustrated. It’s the first time this has ever happened to me. I’ve had old reasons for a while,” he said. “You have to fight through it. It’s a bit difficult for a goalkeeper with one skate.”
Vegas coach Peter DeBoer chuckled across the stage after the 4-1 victory, having never “blown a tire” like that. “I found out right after the game that those reasons are four years. He needs to take some responsibility for that. I think that between our sponsorship agreement and our property had several opportunities to change his reasons,” he said. “For whatever reason, he fell in love with his partner. Sounds like they were just out.”
In other words, sometimes you have to replace something you worship when you believe it is not working properly.
Lehner took the plunge to start the playoffs of Marc-Andre Fleury, an original Golden Knight. Fleury is the most popular player in the young history of the franchise, both for its success and its charm. For example, when Fleury signed a contract extension running through 2022, he was called the face of the franchise. “I wish I had a better face,” he quipped.
But his third season in Vegas was arguably his weakest. After hitting double figures in goals scored above average in his first two seasons, Fleury was only a plus-6.1 this season. He has been the top five for the Vezina Trophy in the past two seasons; in 2019-20, he had a .905 saving percentage in 49 games, his lowest since 2009-10 while playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Off the ice, Fleury struggled as well. He was sad when his father died in November. “It’s hard. I’m doing my best. Hopefully time will make me better,” he told The Athletic in January.
The Golden Knights were expected to improve their goal tending on the trade date, as Fleury’s backups were all this sub-.900 in savings percentage this season. But they shocked the NHL when they took over Lehner, who started 31 games for the Blackhawks this season.
“Chicago had two No. 1 goaltenders,” said Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon. “We liked our team’s makeup. We did not feel we had enough support behind Marc-Andre. That was the motivation for the deal.”
But it was impossible not to see the trade outside the reserve position. Was it an attempt to shake Fleury out of his season-long malaise? Was it an insurance policy they could pay for the post season if Fleury just stayed and Lehner outplayed him?
The Golden Knights’ locker room is filled with players who arrived in Vegas at the same time as Fleury, and who saw him stop behind after the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in 2018. Has the Lehner trade rock on this boat ?
“Robin has been a solid goalie in our league for a while now. Every time you introduce someone who will add depth to your team, add league, it will give an impetus to your team, right?” said Nate Schmidt, Fleury’s teammate since Day 1 of the franchise. “You understand that you are coming [to the playoffs] for one thing, and he will help you win it. “
Lehner did not see it when he replaced Fleury. “I do not think so. Marc is a world-class goaltender. Been one of the best in the league for a very long time,” Lehner said. “Every game I get to play, I will do my best. Every time they need me, they need me.”
McCrimmon said there is a “good relationship” between Fleury and Lehner. “They’re both here for the same reason, which is to help us win. It’s a luxury to have two goals of that caliber. We just felt the risks of not advancing were greater than we were willing to go. no one, “he said.
Lehner started two games of round-robin play and performed well. Fleury scored four goals in his start on 17 shots. DeBoer announced this morning of Game 1 that Lehner would get the nod against his old teammates from Chicago.
“A difficult decision if you have two quality starting goaltenders,” he said. “The best way to explain it is that it was not ‘Flower’ did not. It’s what Robin has been doing since they were here. I think he’s 5-0 in the numbers. But not just the numbers. “think he came here, after the break in our camp and was lights out in all our checks. This is not the case that one man does not get the job. This is just one man who is just fantastic.”
For Lehner, who made 19 saves in the win, Game 1 was a bit surreal. The Blackhawks signed him to a one-year contract after the New York Islanders decided to move from 2018 to 2018. Despite making his offer to stay with a strong season at Chicago, they traded him. What was not known to the Blackhawks at the time was that COVID-19 would break the season and that they were drafted into a 24-team postseason tournament.
“No one could have predicted we would play in a hub in Edmonton, Alberta,” McCrimmon said.
After eliminating the Edmonton Oilers in the qualifying round, the Blackhawks were suddenly able to get on the ice with their former net less.
“He did not take very long to make an impact on our locker room. He is a great personality. The boys love him a lot and he played great hockey for us,” said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. “He had a lot of influence on everyone, especially our leadership team, and won a lot of games for us. At this point we know where he’s good at. We know we have to make his job a lot harder.”
Lehner said he has kept in touch with his former teammates in Chicago since the trade. “I made some good friends there. Large group of guys in the wardrobe,” he said. “But it’s playoffs now. Contact now. On the ice I’m focused on my game. There’s no conversation.”
There are benefits to both the Blackhawks and their former goalkeeper in having history. “I’m primarily a ‘reading’ goalkeeper. I know a lot of their tendencies. I know what they’re trying to do on their power play, etc.,” Lehner said. “But it’s going to be a bit of a reverse psychology. I know they know it, and that they’ll try to mix it up for me. On all their intimate chances, they tried to go five-hole. I kinda replied that before the game. “Next game, they’ll probably try something different.”
In other words, they will adapt, which is what teams do this time of season. This applies to shots on target as well as larger decisions, such as deciding who to stop.
.
