After sitting as Marc-Andre Fleury’s backup on Saturday, the Golden Knights will go back to Lehner tonight vs. the Coyotes. Lehner stopped 20 of 22 shots in a winning effort vs. Anaheim in the season opener. On Monday he takes on a Coyotes team that has started the season at 1-0-1 while scoring eight goals in their first two games.
Following a late-season trade to the Golden Knights, Lehner went 3-0-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .940 SV%. He didn't miss a beat in the NHL's return to play, taking over as Vegas' No.1 and going 9-7 with a 1.99 GAA and .917 SV%. Entering 2021 he's clearly the lead dog in Vegas but it remains to be seen just how large of a start share he's going to command.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Golden Knights and Lehner agreed to this extension before the NHL's Return to Play and it will become official following their playoff run. This sheds a little light on why the Golden Knights have been riding Lehner throughout the postseason and have been reluctant to go to Marc-Andre Fleury at times. This could also spell the end of Fleury's time in Vegas. Since being acquired from Chicago, Lehner has gone 12-5-0 with a .924 SV% in 17 games with Vegas.
Lehner stopped 32 of 35 shots in the Golden Knights round-robin win over the Avalanche on Saturday. Lehner won both of his round-robin starts and has yet to lose a game in a Golden Knights uniform. Since being traded by Chicago, who he'll face in Round 1, Lehner is 5-0 while stopping 134 of the 145 shots (.924 SV%) in Vegas.
