It Is Time To Give Robin Lehner The Ottawa Senators Net

Jan 14, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Ottawa Senators goalie Robin Lehner (40) makes a save during the third period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Senators defeated the Wild 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Granted, 3 of  Lehener’s last 4 starts haven’t been stellar.  A shutout in Minnesota was surrounded by 5 goal efforts from New Jersey, Boston and Carolina.  But prior to that, he hadn’t allowed more than 4 goals in any start all season, and had allowed 4 just twice.  All of those starts were at least 9 days apart.

Obviously, Anderson is fighting the puck, and whether or not you still consider him to be the Senators’ #1 goalie or not, you can’t argue that giving Robin Leher a run of 4 or 5 games to see if he can get on a roll knowing that he will get the next start win or lose, might be a solid idea.  The mindset knowing that win or lose, the next game you are back on the bench for a week and a half can’t be easy, and I think it is having an affect on Lehner.  He hasn’t been the same since he went on a 5 game point streak in early November while Anderson was injured and was pulled out to make way for Anderson to return and Lehner didn’t get back in for 10 days.

Even so, Lehner’s numbers for the season, despite his recent uneven performances, are better than Anderson’s and at this point a change in goal can’t hurt at this point. With 4 games to go before the Olympic break, even a 2-2 split to get them to the break and then resetting the competition after the break would be better than sticking with Anderson as the undisputed #1 and sitting Lehner for long stretches.

What do yo think?