Robin Lehner provides stellar play for Golden Knights

Lost in the Golden Knights’ 6-1 dismantling of the St. Louis Blues on Monday was that their start wasn’t good. At all.

The Knights’ defensive coverage wasn’t tight early, and the Blues got a couple of looks in front on the net. Luckily for the visitors, their goaltender was up to the task.

Robin Lehner recorded his fifth consecutive impressive start for the Knights since returning from a concussion. He allowed one goal on 32 shots at Enterprise Center in St. Louis and improved to 4-0-1 in his last five games.

“He was awesome,” defenseman Nic Hague said. “He kept us right in it from the start, which is always a good feeling. On the bench, you can kind of rally behind that. He kept it close there the first five, 10 minutes. And then we really started to take off and take over a little bit. That was great to see.”

Lehner, who had shoulder surgery in the offseason, did not get off to a great start this season. But he’s been sensational since stepping back into the crease March 19.

He’s looked exactly like the same goaltender who won two playoff series with the Knights last postseason and earned a five-year, $25 million contract extension. He has a .948 save percentage and 1.38 goals-against average in his last five starts. He’s allowed two goals twice and one three times.

“It was nice to have him back energized,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “He’s come back, the work he put in to get back has really set him up for success because he practiced really well. … I think he has looked as good as he’s ever looked here recently.”

Lehner’s dominant run of games has given the Knights the one-two goalie punch they dreamed of this offseason. The team is spending $12 million against the cap for Lehner and Marc-Andre Fleury, making them the second-most expensive tandem in the NHL behind Montreal’s.

Lehner’s concussion, which sidelined him for nearly 1½ months, kept the two from reaching their potential. Now they’re both healthy, and the Knights are leading the league in team save percentage at .919.

“We have two guys that are playing at the top of their game,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “It’s great to see both guys playing the way they are. I think as a group, especially on the back end, it frees us up a bit to maybe make some plays that we can make when we’ve got a guy like that back there.”

Here are three more takeaways from the win:

1. Nosek’s scorching run

Center Tomas Nosek’s first-period goal gave him 10 points in his last 11 games.

The bottom-six forward is approaching several career highs despite the shortened schedule. He has six goals in 29 games, two off his previous best. His 13 points are four off his total from 2018-19. It took him 68 games to get there.

“(Nosek’s) been unbelievable all season,” left wing Jonathan Marchessault said. “He’s stepped up his game. He’s been really good offensively. He’s still as reliable defensively as he was before.”

2. Martinez’s offensive night

Monday was the second two-goal game of defenseman Alec Martinez’s career.

The last time he scored twice was April 7, 2018, in a game for the Los Angeles Kings. The two goals gave him the most among Knights’ defensemen with seven. He’s tied for the sixth-most on the team with center Chandler Stephenson and right wing Reilly Smith.

“Obviously, coming off the last two games, we liked a lot of the things we did, but one of the things we didn’t like was putting the puck in the back of the net,” Martinez said. “As d-men, we just try to get the puck there, try to create opportunities.”

3. Rare blowout

Monday was the 272nd regular-season game in the Knights’ history. It was the eighth time the team won by at least five goals.

The Knights last won by five goals Feb. 6, 2020, in a 7-2 victory at Florida. The franchise record for margin of victory is seven.

“It was a good feeling,” Marchessault said. “Obviously, the past three games were kind of disappointing on the offensive side. All four lines contributed tonight. A couple (defensemen) making good plays and good shots back there.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.