Robin Lehner will start in net for the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
The 2018-19 Vezina Trophy finalist, who is a pending Unrestricted Free Agent this coming off-season, will guard the net for the Vegas Golden Knights in their opening round-robin contest against the Dallas Stars.
After Marc-Andre Fleury started and played the whole game against Arizona Coyotes in an exhibition on Thursday, Lehner will get a crucial tuneup later today.
It will be Lehner’s first game in well over four months so there could well be some rust there, but this is the perfect game for the elite stopper to regain any sharpness and dial back in.
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It is also the perfect opportunity for Head Coach Peter DeBoer to get some quality work into both of his netminders, with Lehner and Fleury set to rotate in the three round-robin games.
That means both Lehner and Fleury will get two games each before Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which are slated to start on Aug. 11.
Having two elite goalies is a luxury not too many teams have, and such strong depth between the pipes should only help the Golden Knights in their ultimate goal to win the Stanley Cup.
While Fleury will be the undisputed starter for the Playoffs, barring any unforeseen events between now and then, having Lehner as a Plan B is a win-win for Vegas.
After all, Lehner has had a better Save Percentage than Fleury over the last couple of seasons, while he went 16-10-5 as a Chicago Blackhawk with a 3.01 Goals Against Average and a .918 Save Percentage.
Then, after being traded to the Golden Knights in a stunning move at the Trade Deadline, the 29-year-old went 3-0-0 in three starts with a stellar 1.67 GAA and an even better .940 SV%.
He showed in those three starts exactly why he has been one of the hottest goalies in the NHL over the past couple of years, and there will no doubt be a slew of teams battling for his services in Free Agency.
Back to the modern day, though, and Lehner will have some pressure on his shoulders today given that these round-robin games actually mean something.
With the NHL granting the wishes of many players by opting to reseed after each round, seeding will be of utmost importance.
These three round-robin games, against the Stars, the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche, will dictate seeding for the First Round so being competitive and not being too reliant on experimenting with new systems and line combinations will be important.
Currently the third seed in the Western Conference, the Golden Knights could steal the top seed and, as a result, a more favorable matchup in the First Round, should they run the table.
Even grabbing the second seed would be beneficial, but these games are important thus the Golden Knights will need solid goaltending.
Fleury looked sharp and dialled in from the first drop of the puck against the Coyotes on Thursday, while he did benefit from outstanding defense in the first two periods.
Lehner will hope to be near to full tilt today and he will be playing with a chip on his shoulder in order to keep the pressure on Fleury heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while also ensuring that his stock remains high heading into free agency.
No matter the source, a motivated and driven Robin Lehner will be a godsend for the Golden Knights this postseason.
Meanwhile, Lehner is expected to be the only lineup change for the Vegas Golden Knights today with forward Max Pacioretty still not ready to join the team.