New York Islanders: Stanley Cup Playoffs Profile, Robin Lehner

The New York Islanders are in the playoffs and Robin Lehner and the true two-headed goalie monster they have are a massive part of it. So, here are some notes on what to expect from Lehner come the first round.

The New York Islanders are a great story this year and appropriately enough, so is Robin Lehner. In the beginning of the season, Lehner’s personal demons were well documented, in particular his days as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. I will link it here if you want to go read that story, but I am now here to write about happier times. The team Lehner plays for now is playoff bound and here are some interesting notes.

While many players on the Islanders have a lot of playoff experience, like Tom Kuhnhackl of all people has two Stanley Cups, and Josh Bailey has been with the Isles in every playoff appearance they’ve had this decade, Lehner has a bit of a different path.

Lehner does have playoff experience in the NHL, but it has been a while. He technically played in two playoff game for the Ottawa Senators during their run in 2012-2013. He played in two games against the Penguins. His career NHL playoff stat line is as follows, he faced 25 shots, made 23 saves, played 49 minutes, and has a 2.43 GAA in the playoffs.

So, that really is not all that awful, more importantly, it is the only sample we have. He last played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs a long time ago. There is no way of knowing if he can even use that little experience, which experience is key in the playoffs, and apply it to the Islanders this year.

However, Lehner has been so impressive this season, I don’t think the stage he is performing highly matters. Let’s not forget, during the game against the Sabres to end March, you know, that game where if the Isles won they would have clinched, Lehner was the one between the pipes.

That was a playoff type stage in terms of how important a win was. It helped it was on home ice against a bad team, but he only let in one goal on 32 shots against, he brought it. After the game he was pumped too. He did a post game interview and you could see his excitement that they had made it. The post game interview was great but he did use a curse word, so I won’t link it here, but if you want to watch it, just go on Twitter, you’ll find it, trust me.

But, perhaps the best thing about Robin Lehner is that he has been an MVP on and off the ice this season. Just this week, Lehner went viral (see below) after he promised to give a young Islanders fan and a true fighter of a person his stick. That whole story is great and shows how lucky and grateful Lehner is to be an Islander.

Just about everything is going right for the Islanders’ true number one goalie as the team heads into the playoffs. While seeding and home ice are still to be determined during the season’s last two games, I would give Lehner the green light to start Game One. I would especially start him if it was at home where he has a GAA 2.05, a .929 SV%, and three shutouts split between Barclays and NYCB Live or as I will call it, “The Coli.”

Overall, despite the fact that Lehner does not have a lot of experience, nor has he recently played in the Stanley Cup playoffs, I don’t think there are many players on the Islanders more ready to keep proving people wrong and more ready to play for hockey’s biggest prize.

More like RobWIN Lehner, am I right?