Lehner suffers 2nd regulation loss as a Golden Knight
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Robin Lehner’s Golden Knights tenure has been so successful, he lost Friday night for only the second time in regulation, this time to the Arizona Coyotes, in his 19th start with the Knights.
Strangely enough, his first loss came at Gila River Arena as well on Jan. 22.
He gave up four goals in that game, but Friday’s 3-0 defeat was an unfortunate result for Lehner. He played well and stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced. He wasn’t given any help from his offense. That’s what sunk him and the team.
“Overall, offensively we just weren’t very good,” captain Mark Stone said.
That the other team had to put up a shutout to beat Lehner shows just how good he’s been since arriving at the 2020 trade deadline.
He’s 15-2-2 with the Knights. His .925 save percentage in that span ranks fifth among goaltenders with 10 or more starts. His 1.98 goals-against average ranks third.
Lehner kept up that impressive play Friday despite getting little offensive support. He made two good saves on Coyotes forward Derick Brassard on a 3-on-1. He defended a Christian Fischer breakaway and covered up the rebound. He stopped a shot from Arizona forward Dryden Hunt when the skater got a 2-on-1 with forward Phil Kessel.
Lehner did everything in his power to keep the Knights in the game. But the lead the Coyotes built pouncing on rebounds was too much to overcome.
The Knights couldn’t find a goal, and Lehner had to leave the net early only to see Arizona score again.
“Usually when we play and we don’t get offense, it’s usually self-inflicted,” Stone said. “The ice was pretty snowy. We had to simplify our game. It wasn’t very good.”
1. Winning streak ends
The Knights’ 10-game winning streak, which started April 9 against the Coyotes, was snapped Friday.
It is one of 28 10-game winning streaks in NHL history and the only one any team has had this season. Before the Knights won 10 straight, the Tampa Bay Lightning were the last to do it from Dec. 23, 2019, to Jan. 11, 2020.
The Knights would have become the 29th team to have a winning streak of at least 11 games if they had prevailed against Arizona.
“You’re never happy when you lose,” defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. “We’re a team that competes every single night. We hold ourselves to high standards. We want to hold each other accountable. When you don’t come out with a win it’s obviously not a great feeling.”
2. McNabb’s 500th
Defenseman Brayden McNabb didn’t flash too much during his 500th career NHL game Friday.
Which, of course, was fitting for a player who’s made his living doing hard, defensive grunt work and taking care of his own end. McNabb finished with three hits, two blocked shots and a takeaway against the Coyotes.
He wasn’t quite as fired up as he was when he made his NHL debut Nov. 26, 2011, for Buffalo. He had six hits that night against the Washington Capitals.
“I remember not sleeping that night and not really having a good sleep for my pregame nap,” McNabb said. “It was an exciting time, for sure.”
3. Marchessault misses game
Knights left wing Jonathan Marchessault didn’t play Friday against the Coyotes with an undisclosed injury.
It’s the first game he’s missed all season.
Center William Karlsson is now the only player on the team who’s appeared in all 49 of the Knights’ games.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
