Buffalo Sabres Robin Lehner Leads Weekly Three Stars

Lehner stops 69 of 73 shots faced in two starts

The Buffalo Sabres returned from the NHL All-Star Break with a bang, defeating the struggling Montreal Canadiens by a score of 4-2. But although they won to kick off the week, the rest of it would turn out to be a struggle.

In the end, the Buffalo Sabres picked up four of a possible six points this past week, taking Boston to overtime and a shootout in their two meetings.

The team kicked off the week with the win over Montreal.

Marcus Foligno, Jamie McGinn, Johan Larsson and Brian Gionta all scored for the Sabres, including the captain’s empty-netter to help seal the victory.

Robin Lehner had 33 saves in the win.

The Buffalo Sabres returned to action the following night, kicking off a home-and-home with Boston.

Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart scored for Buffalo, but in the end, Brad Marchand won it for the Bruins in the shootout.

Chad Johnson stopped 31 of 33 shots faced against his former team.

The Buffalo Sabres finished out the week with a tilt in Boston on Saturday.

Once again, they’d take things to extra time, and a penalty shot in the overtime frame would seal the win for Boston.

Reinhart scored the lone goal for the Sabres in the 2-1 loss.

So who were the top performers for the Buffalo Sabres this past week?

3. Sam Reinhart

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Reinhart was held mostly off the scoresheet as the team opened the week, but came out with strong performances in both games against Boston.

He finished the week with two goals, one in each game against the Bruins.

The young Buffalo Sabres forward also registered five shots on goal over the course of the week along with two hits and one blocked shot.

He played over 15 minutes each night, including a week-high 17:37 in the game against the Habs.

2. Ryan O’Reilly

O’Reilly continues to be a top performer for the Buffalo Sabres, night in and night out.

This week, he notched assists in each of the team’s three games and finished the week a plus-1.

While he was held shotless in the game against Montreal, O’Reilly registered three shots on goal in each game against Boston.

He also went 50 percent or better in the faceoff dot in each game, including 62% on Saturday night.

O’Reilly once again played over 20 minutes of ice time each night, including 23:33 in the first game against Boston – after having played 21:39 the previous night.

1. Robin Lehner

Pretty much anyone with eyes can see that Buffalo Sabres netminder Robin Lehner has been sharp for his team since returning from injury.

This week was no different, as Lehner appeared in two of three games for the Sabres.

He registered 33 saves on 35 shots faced in the win over the Habs, then followed it up with a 36-save performance Saturday against Boston.

Overall, Lehner’s been solid since his return from injury and, quite frankly, it’s great to see.

Four games on tap for the Buffalo Sabres this week.

They’ll kick things off by hosting Florida on Tuesday, then visit the Flyers on Thursday.

That kicks off another back-to-back set, with the Habs coming into town on Friday.

The Buffalo Sabres close out the week with a matinee tilt with the Colorado Avalanche on Valentine’s Day.

Next: Left Defensemen to Consider

How do you think the Buffalo Sabres will fare in the coming week?