Lehner’s Return Has Sabres on the Rise

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Managing expectations has been an important part of the growth for the young Buffalo Sabres. Despite their poor record, Buffalo’s special teams have been at the top of the league, with the power play ranking as high as second. Individual players have also performed well – Rasmus Ristolainen’s name peppers the stat leaders for defensemen in several categories, and Buffalo’s rookie forwards Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart find themselves among the best in the league.

These individual performances notwithstanding, perhaps the most impressive players for Buffalo this season have been the goaltenders. Coming into the season, neither of Buffalo’s top two net minders had started a game for the blue and gold. GM Tim Murray, acknowledging the need for a starting goalie, sent a substantial package to Ottawa for Robin Lehner, and backup Chad Johnson had been injured in his first practices with the team when he landed in Buffalo – he never suited up for a game.

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Lehner cost the team a first round pick in last year’s draft. At the time, the price seemed pretty high; especially when Lehner went down with a high ankle sprain in the Sabres’ first game of the season. Johnson, a perennial number two, jumped into the starting spot, and the Sabres tapped rookie Linus Ullmark to fill the backup role.

Lamenting their bad luck, Sabres fans steeled themselves for another awful season. To everyone’s surprise, though, the tandem of Johnson and Ullmark performed fairly well. Ullmark’s 0.915 save percentage is sixth among rookie goalies, and his 2.58 goals against is fifth. Johnson’s stats aren’t ranked as high, but his performance this season has made him the subject of trade talks for teams on the bubble who are in need of a goaltender.

As the team progressed through the season, Lehner had several setbacks in his recovery, and so fans were skeptical when he joined the Rochester Americans for a three game conditioning stint in early January. In his first start for the Amerks, Lehner allowed 4 goals on 28 shots, not the type of performance that validates Murray’s sacrifice of a first round pick. In fact, in his three starts in Rochester, Lehner’s 3.36 goals against and 0.888 save percentage had a lot of people questioning his ability to be a quality starter for the Sabres.

When he returned to the ice for Buffalo to face Boston on January 15, expectations were pretty low, and Lehner didn’t do much to raise them. Allowing 3 goals on 30 shots, Lehner looked a bit out-of-sorts in his first full game in nearly a year.

Since his first start, though, Lehner has been Buffalo’s best player, without a doubt. The Swedish goaltender has allowed two goals or fewer in his five other starts. His save percentage has jumped significantly from 0.900 to 0.947, and his goals against has dropped to 2.17 – and he even has an assist on this beautiful goal by Eichel.

They won't let Eichel go short side. He's got other plans. #BUFvsOTThttps://t.co/TqT9OWsLnS

— NHL (@NHL) January 27, 2016

He has been essential in Buffalo’s four game point streak, and the team’s 4-4-2 record in their last ten. In that time, Buffalo has jumped two spots in the league standings, quieting all whispers of another last-place finish.

Lehner’s return extends beyond his play in his six starts, though. He is an incredibly passionate player, and his temper was on full display in a recent game against the Boston Bruins, in which a weak call in overtime lead to a penalty shot that decided the game.

Whatever questions anyone had regarding Lehner’s abilities have certainly been answered since his return. Although the sample size is small, there is no doubt that Lehner was worth the pick, and that he is Buffalo’s number one goaltender as they continue to develop their young team into a cup contender.

Lehner and the Sabres have a tough game in Florida before winnable games against Montreal, Philadelphia, and Colorado this week. If Lehner continues his strong play, and the Sabres’ can get their scoring back on track, Buffalo could leap two more spots in the standings, changing the conversation as the trade deadline approaches.

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