Robin Lehner comes through in shootout for Golden Knights
History will always remember Monday as the night that San Jose’s Patrick Marleau set the NHL record for most games played.
But another rare occasion took place. Robin Lehner earned a shootout victory.
The goalie stopped all three attempts and lifted the Golden Knights to a 3-2 win over the Sharks in front of an announced crowd of 3,950 at T-Mobile Arena.
“We wanted to keep building and keep everything going,” Lehner said. “This was an important win for us, and it was nice to make a couple of saves in the shootout.”
Marleau skated in his 1,768th career game to pass Gordie Howe for most games played in NHL history and was honored with a three-minute ceremony after the first whistle that included a message from Commissioner Gary Bettman.
But the Knights (32-11-2) rallied from a two-goal deficit to win their seventh straight and move into sole possession of first place in the West Division.
Mark Stone scored twice on the power play, including the tying goal 3:29 into the third period when he stuffed the puck past Sharks goalie Martin Jones.
Stone also had two chances to win the game in overtime, including a breakaway attempt that was turned away by Jones.
Alex Tuch had the lone goal in the shootout.
“We were on fumes tonight,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I did think we dug deep. That’s as fatigued as I’ve seen us as a group this year. … The fact that we found a way is a tribute to our guys, because we didn’t have a lot in the tank.”
Lehner won his fifth in a row and moved to 8-0-1 since returning from a concussion March 19.
He finished with 29 saves, including a key glove stop on Timo Meier with 3:52 remaining in the third period.
Lehner entered the shootout with a 9-25 career record, including two losses this season, and his .510 save percentage in the format was the lowest among any goalie with at least 40 attempts against.
But Lehner turned away Marleau in the first round, then made saves against Ryan Donato and Logan Couture.
“It’s huge,” Tuch said. “To be able to go out there and get a goal for him, but not only that he had three stops, I think it was huge for him. I think throughout his career he hasn’t been the best (in shootouts), but tonight he was really, really good.”
The Knights were without injured forward Reilly Smith for the second of back-to-back games and their sixth in the past nine days.
Trade deadline acquisition Mattias Janmark made his home debut for the Knights, but San Jose responded to Marleau’s historic night with a strong effort in the first period.
Defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov held the zone and fired a shot from the point that went through traffic for a 1-0 Sharks lead at 9:27.
San Jose nearly doubled its advantage with about five minutes left in the period as Evander Kane’s deflection went off the crossbar twice and was swept to safety with defensemen Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore crashing the crease.
The Sharks went ahead 2-0 29 seconds into the second period when Noah Gregor tracked down a loose puck, turn and fired a shot that slipped through Lehner for his fourth goal.
But the Knights finally woke up courtesy of their power play. Theodore let a shot go from the point, and Stone was camped in front to deflect in his 16th goal at 1:22 of the second.
“It was a really special night all around, for not just Patrick but all of us to be a part of,” forward Max Pacioretty said. “It was nice to have that kind of reception in front of at least some fans.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
