Golden Knights name starting goalie for Game 1 against Avalanche

DENVER — The Golden Knights made a change in net for Game 1 of the West Division final.

Goalie Robin Lehner appeared for the first time this postseason, starting against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at Ball Arena after Marc-Andre Fleury played every minute of the first round.

Philipp Grubauer got the nod for the Avalanche after he stopped 103 of 110 shots in the four-game sweep of St. Louis.

“Our goalies have been great. Our tandem has been the best in the league if you look at it,” coach Pete DeBoer said Sunday morning. “If you had a list of the importance of different elements of the games to win in the playoffs, goaltending would be right at the top. Always critical. I know from our end we’re going to get good goaltending.”

DeBoer used a similar move with his goaltenders during the playoffs last season when Fleury started the opener of the Western Conference Final against Dallas after Lehner shut out Vancouver in Game 7 of the previous series. Lehner returned to the crease for Game 2 and finished out the five-game loss to the Stars.

Lehner, who missed more than a month of the regular season with a concussion, went 13-4-2 with a 2.29 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. He combined with Fleury to win the Jennings Trophy, which goes to the goalies with the fewest goals allowed.

But Lehner lost three of his final four starts, including a 2-1 loss to Colorado on May 10 that decided the West Division title.

Fleury started throughout the first-round series against Minnesota and posted a 1.71 goals-against average with a .931 save percentage. In Game 7 on Friday, the Vezina Trophy candidate stopped 18 of 20 shots.

Lehner has the lowest goals-against average in the playoffs among active goaltenders at 2.01.

The 29-year-old started 16 of 20 games during the Knights’ run to the Western Conference Final last season and had a .917 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.