Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner to have season-ending surgery

The Vegas Golden Knights – finally – announced that goaltender Robin Lehner will have season-ending surgery on Monday evening.

Lehner initially sustained the injury on Feb. 9 against the Calgary Flames. Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli reported back on Feb. 15 that Lehner would need surgery, but the Golden Knights denied that claim. They attempted to rest and rehab the injury, and Lehner returned from the injury on March 1, but ultimately he discussed with the team that surgery was necessary.

There were also reports April 22 that Lehner was going to have the surgery, but the team immediately denied it as well and ended up dressing Lehner as the backup goalie in their game on Sunday against the San Jose Sharks.

Lehner will finish the season with a 23-17-2 record with the Golden Knights, as well as a .907 save percentage in 44 games. It will be a huge blow for a Vegas team on the brink of playoff elimination, as they currently sit in ninth in the Western Conference with a 42-31-6 record. They are three points back of the Dallas Stars for the final wildcard spot and play the Stars on Tuesday night. A regulation loss in that game will result in them officially being eliminated from the playoffs.

The Golden Knights also announced that goaltender Jiri Patera has been called up from the Henderson Silver Knights in response to the injury.

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