Robin Lehner was back in the goal when the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 after extra time on Sunday. Lehner, who missed 12 games due to a lower body injury, made 26 saves in his first appearance since March 8.
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– We needed to have Robin back in the game. He made a really good match for us and looked sharp, says Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer to NHL.com/sv. He was very confident considering that he did not play in a month. We need those types of efforts right now to continue collecting points.
Lehner played through the match and did not let go much, even though Vancouver’s 2-2 goal was of the strangest kind. In numerical disadvantage won William Karlsson a technical in his own zone and the puck slid towards the Vegas goal. Then stretched Alec Martinez presented his club and changed direction on the puck – which put the Swedish goalkeeper completely. In the end it was Bo Horvat who got the goal, this despite the fact that he did not touch the puck during the change.
Video: VAN-VGK: Horvat is booked for goals after technical
Lehner came back and made several nice saves after the unusual equalizer. The most important came ten seconds into extra time when he saved Bo Horvat’s free kick and kept the team in the match. Shea Theodore then put the winning puck 2:05 into the overtime period.
– Robin played brilliantly and it’s nice to have him back, says Theodore. He was really stable after his injury and he shows what a good goalkeeper he is. He did not let himself be affected by the unfortunate bounce at the equalizer and the save in the long run was very important.
30-year-old Lehner has this season the score line 22-15-1 in 29 started matches. He has a save percentage of 90.9% with an average of 2.75 goals conceded per game and a kept zero.
– It was hard to lose “Lenny” and we have seen how hard he worked to get back in the game and help the team, says Chandler Stephenson. He played well and it did not look like he lost anything during the injury absence.
The victory in Vancouver was Vegas’ fifth in a row, of which the last three were collected on away ice. With Sunday’s win, Vegas (39-28-4) increased the distance to the Canucks (32-28-10) in the Pacific Division to eight points. The Golden Knights’ 82 points means that the team is in fourth place in the division and just has the second wild card place in the Western Conference. However, the battle for the playoff spots is fierce and Vegas will need to continue to pick victories during the regular season final sprint.
Video: VAN-VGK: Theodore decides the match
– We will need two points every night, says Stephenson. We have to stay calm and concentrated and trust that we are a good team that can win matches. There will be a playoff mentality every game now for the rest of the season.
– We showed strength today and we will carry that with us in the future, says coach DeBoer. The guys have come together in a good way here at the end and despite the fact that we are missing some players (injuries on Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Reilly Smith and Nicolas Hague) they really give it their all on the ice every night.
– We need every win we can get and there are many players who have stepped forward in the end and taken responsibility. We do not feel panic and we know that we have fate in our own hands. It’s about winning matches and right now that’s what we do.
Both the Golden Knights and the Canucks are now traveling to Las Vegas where the teams will face each other again on Wednesday.
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