Islanders lose one top goalie, put another in net

OTTAWA, Ontario — Just as it was becoming clear Robin Lehner was the Islanders starting goaltender, he got hurt.

Lehner did not travel here with the team one day after he had been steamrolled by the Senators Brady Tkachuk late in the third period of what would become the Isles’ 5-4 shootout victory Tuesday night at the Coliseum. The team called up Christopher Gibson from AHL Bridgeport on emergency loan, and it’s expected he’ll back up Thomas Greiss in the second leg of this home-and-home Thursday night.

Lehner was hurt while making his 22nd start in the previous 31 games, — though, like the rest of the team, he had not been quite as sharp over the past two-plus weeks. It’s assumed he went through concussion protocol after the play — when the hard-edged Tkachuk slammed into his head, leading to a controversial game-tying goal with just 4:40 left in regulation. Either by necessity or by caution, Lehner stayed home.

Though Greiss was slowly moving into the role of backup, he has the net again — at least for the time being.

“When you play, you play. It’s pretty easy,” Greiss said after the game, when he came in relief and made two saves before stopping both shooters he faced in the skills competition. “Stay sharp in practice, [and] when I get the call, I get ready.”

Goaltending has been a huge strength of the Islanders this season, with first-year head coach Barry Trotz bringing in his two goalie gurus — Mitch Korn and Piero Greco — to work with Lehner and Greiss. They have combined for the best even-strength team save percentage in the league (.936), and overall individually, Greiss is ranked third in the league (.928) and Lehner fourth (.927) for goalies with more than 30 games.

It’s in stark contrast to last season, when the Islanders finished dead last in the league in goals against — contributing to Greiss finishing the first year of his three-year, $10 million deal with an abysmal .892 save percentage. But the turnaround has been drastic, as the Islanders are now first in goals-against per game, with better defense coming in concert with better goaltending.

“It’s a big difference,” Greiss said. “We play good team defense, and it’s a good team game. So [as a goalie] it’s nice.”

It also helps that Lehner has come in as a one-year, $1.5 million reclamation project and turned into one of the best stories in the league. Having battled through substance addiction and mental illness, the 27-year-old Swede has raised the level of competition for starting time between the Islanders pipes.

“Both guys plays hard, team is playing very well in front of us, making us look good. So that helps,” Greiss said. “Just battling to do the best.”