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New York Islanders 3 Things Learnt In Win Over Toronto Maple Leafs

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 29: Josh Ho-Sang #26 of the New York Islanders celebrates a goal by teammate Mathew Barzal #13 against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on December 29, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 29: Josh Ho-Sang #26 of the New York Islanders celebrates a goal by teammate Mathew Barzal #13 against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on December 29, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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GLENDALE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 18: Goaltender Robin Lehner #40 of the New York Islanders in action during the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on December 18, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. The Islanders defeated the Coyotes 3-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 18: Goaltender Robin Lehner #40 of the New York Islanders in action during the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on December 18, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. The Islanders defeated the Coyotes 3-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Robin Lehner Looks Like a Starter

When he came in during free agency for a single year $1.5 million deal, nothing much was expected of him. If Lehner could give the New York Islanders average goalkeeping number we’d all be happy.

Based on 2017-18 averages that meant Lehner should return a 0.912SV% and a 2.78GAA. If he could float around those numbers we’d be happy.

After a 36 save shutout against the Maple Leafs Lehner’s numbers on the season are 0.926SV% with a 2.21GAA. He’s well above that expected level. He’s now ranked as tied for the third best SV% in the league and has the league’s best GAA for any goalie playing more than 12 games.

That wasn’t the script going into 2018-19. It was to just do his best to look like he belonged in the league and maybe that could parlay into another contract. With the form he’s in right now Lehner has looked every bit of that goalie the Buffalo Sabres traded a first round pick for.

Lehner looks like an NHL caliber starter right now.

And he isn’t even a starter technically. Both Lehner and Greiss have been sharing the crease recently. It’s probably a coaches ultimate dream to have to goalies that are able to get you above average goaltending on any given night.

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This team is coming together at the right time. They’re still getting top notch defense, their goalies are stopping pucks at an above average rate and the blazing offense from last season is starting to seep its way back into the lineup. The 2019 portion of the season should be real interesting.

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