Montreal Canadiens: Vegas Rolling The Dice By Starting Robin Lehner
Montreal Canadiens winger Josh Anderson scored the overtime goal that gave the Habs a 2-1 series lead over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Anderson beat Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury because of an incredible pass from Paul Byron that left a wide open net for Anderson to tap the puck into. It was Anderson’s second goal on the game, and just his third of the postseason after not scoring since Game 1 of the opening round.
It certainly wasn’t a goal that could be blamed on Fleury, as it was the skaters in front of him that allowed a 2-on-0 break in the extra period. However, it sounds like Fleury will be the one to deal with the fallout of the Game 3 loss.
The Golden Knights have not announced anything, but it sounds like Robin Lehner will be between the pipes when the puck drops on Game 4. Though no one should point a finger at Fleury for the overtime goal, he is deservedly taking the blame for the game going to a fourth period in the first place.
With the Canadiens trailing 2-1 late in the third period and struggling to mount any offensive attack, a Fleury gaffe allowed the Habs to tie the game. Shea Weber had dumped a puck into the Vegas zone from long distance. Fleury came out to play it but bobbled it and it then his his skate when he tried to move it to his defenceman.
The puck bounced in front of the Vegas net and Anderson tapped it in to tie the game with 1:55 to go.
Though that goal is entirely on Fleury’s shoulders, the Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer is taking a huge risk if he benches Fleury for Lehner tonight.
Fleury has been fantastic for the Golden Knights all season. He has played 15 postseason games with a record of 9-6 and a GAA of just 1.97 to go with an impressive .921 save percentage. He was even better in the regular season where he had a 1.98 GAA and a .928 SV% in 36 games, which earned him a Vezina nomination.
This isn’t to say Lehner is no good, but he hasn’t been nearly as good as Fleury this season. Lehner played 19 games and had a terrific 13-4-2 record to go with solid stats. He posted a 2.29 GAA and a .913 SV% and has a solid track record in the postseason with a 2.20 GAA and a .918 SV% in 27 career appearances.
Lehner has played just one game this postseason and it did not go well. He allowed seven goals in Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche before stepping aside for Fleury once again in Game 2.
That was three weeks ago and is the only game that Lehner has played since May 10. A cold Lehner seems like a huge step back from a steady Fleury. It’s quite a risk for the Golden Knights to take in a pivotal Game 4 of this semifinal playoff series.
In all likelihood, Lehner will probably play a terrific game tonight, but why is the leash so short on Fleury? Is Carey Price one bad goal away from sitting in Game 5 and watching Jake Allen? I don’t think so. I don’t understand the decision.
Next. Habs win Game 3 despite awful officiating. dark
Putting a goalie in who has played one game in the past six weeks is quite the gamble. Even for Vegas. Hopefully the Canadiens get off to a better start than Game 3 and fire some shots on goal early on to test out the cold Lehner. It will be interesting to see how the Golden Knights goalie responds.