Every player that gets traded to or signs with a new team always checks to see when they'll get their first look at their old club.
Robin Lehner is no different. He had Dec. 27 marked on his calendar for a long time with the New York Islanders coming to town. Even Lehner's former teammates were looking forward to the battle as they went back-and-forth on Twitter over the three-day holiday break.
Lehner wanted to put forth a strong performance and that's exactly what he did. He stopped 38 of 40 shots for a save percentage of .950 to improve to 10-6-4 on the season, but this win had extra meaning to it.
"Right now, we're just really trying to focus on getting wins," Lehner said following a 5-2 win over the Islanders on Friday. "I felt like my last four starts felt pretty good, feeling pretty good in the net. But this is against a former team, they meant a lot to me. It was a little bit different than the other times I've played against former teams because they're a great group of guys in there. The whole organization, the coaches, everyone."
Lehner has always said his bond with the Islanders organization and fans is a special one because they gave him a second chance in hockey. And he ran with it.
Lehner was named a Vezina Trophy finalist last season after going 25-13-5 with a 2.13 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and six shutouts and was also part of the duo that won the 2019 William Jennings Trophy with Thomas Greiss, who went 23-14-2 with a 2.28 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and five shutouts. They shared a special moment during pregame warmups on Friday, meeting near center ice and having a brief catch-up session.
But that's where the smiles would end and the competitiveness took over.
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Greiss gave up three goals on 11 shots for a save percentage of .727 and was substituted for Semyon Varlamov at the 11:56 mark of the first period. Greiss slammed his stick while making his way to the bench, showing his frustration over getting pulled for the second time in three games.
In the big picture, Lehner is just happy about getting the two points and the Blackhawks turning in a strong bounce-back effort after losing 7-1 to the New Jersey Devils going into the break. But the guys inside the locker room knew this game held more weight for their goaltender and they delivered for him.
"Yeah, it's a big one for him," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "I'm sure it meant a lot to him. Those are times you hope the guys come through and we did. For his part he did a good job in the net too. He made some big saves."
The Blackhawks and Islanders square off one more time this season and it will come on April 2, which will be the second to last game of the season. And it would mean much more to Lehner if the Blackhawks could put together a second half run to set up a matchup that has playoff implications in his return to New York.
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