Buffalo Sabres Roster: What The Goaltending Is Missing

By Jacob D. Strozyk | Aug 8, 2015

Only minor issues may plague the Buffalo Sabres as far as structure this year. Tim Murray has taken the right precautions and made the right moves for some better players to ensure that his team will be more competitive, and one of those moves was a trade for a number one goaltender. The man he has placed his faith in is Robin Lehner.

Related – What The Sabres Offense Is Missing

Last season, Buffalo struggled for a great deal of reasons, but one issue that was prevalent was the lacking of a true starting goaltender. Jhonas Enroth had never been in the starting role before, but still performed admirably. Michael Neuvirth had a little starting experience under his belt, but he could not take on the task well enough. Both goalies would fight and then eventually fumble under the pressure.

There can only be so much pressure put on a goaltender. Unless they are amongst the elite in the league (Carey Price, Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne, Jonathan Quick) a goaltender cannot be expected to carry his team on his back and steal games as far as the Buffalo Sabres were concerned. Since the days of Dominik Hasek, there is yet to be a goaltender that could consistently pull off such a feat.

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Now, this isn’t me saying that the Sabres need an elite level goaltender, but rather is my reminder that they are only a dime a dozen and when Robin Lehner has the starting role in the fall he should not be held to those kind of expectations. He is a backup that will be transitioning to a starting role and he will have his off nights.

So what the Sabres are missing is stability and consistency in goal. Chad Johnson is a great and very capable backup goalie, and he will be great support for when Lehner crumbles under some games.

When it comes to Robin Lehner, Sabres fans can expect a full effort every night and play at the level of at least Antti Niemi. Lehner is a large and capable goaltender that has been overshadowed by Craig Anderson for his entire career thus far. Anderson has played and been consistent, plus Lehner is still young at the age of 24 so his breakout season is yet to happen.

With the opportunity to prove himself in place, and the faith of his GM also there, Robin Lehner has all the tools to breakout this year. Does that mean he will win 40 games? Not necessarily. But I think he can at least manage 27 wins (having about 3 shutouts) and he will be able to keep him GAA under 2.50.

There isn’t much missing from the Goaltending as a whole, so when next season rolls around let’s all give a warm Buffalo welcome and cheer for the new goaltenders that will be guarding the crease and helping our Sabres win more games this year.

The defense is solid, the goaltending has holes but will grow, and the offense has improved drastically. I for one am very excited for the coming season.

Next: What The Sabres Defense Is Missing

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