Robin Lehner says headaches gone; starter fatigue not an issue

Buffalo goaltender Robin Lehner says his headaches from his concussion have “been gone for a while now.”

He wants to be the starter for the Sabres. He believes he can be the starter for them. But the former Sens backup has never been a full-time starter at the NHL level. In fact, the last two seasons he’s had a 3.06 goals against average and 3.02 GAA respectively.

The Sabres acquired Lehner and David Legwand for a first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

His only prolonged regular season success as a goaltender came in 2012-13 in Binghamton of the AHL with a 2.12 goals against average and .938 save percentage in 31 games. He has never played more than 45 games in a regular season as a professional – that was combined in 2011-12 between Ottawa and Binghamton.

In 2010-11 he won the Calder Cup with Binghamton, playing 19 playoff games and notching a 2.10 goals against average and .939 save percentage.

“When I was younger and we got in a long stretch in the Calder Cup playoffs when we went all the way. I don’t think that will be an issue,” the 23-year-old Lehner said of starter fatigure on a conference call. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity, but I have to deserve it, I have to perform and we’ll go from there. “

The 6-foot-5 Lehner might have been the goaltender who spearheaded the Sens revival last season and helped them march into the playoffs. Except Feb. 16, Lehner suffered a concussion that knocked him out the rest of the regular season. Starter Craig Anderson was injured in late January.

Enter Hammond, who the led the team the playoffs and hamburger-spawned euphoria amongst Sens fans. Hammond went 20-1-2 to close out the regular season. This earned him a new contract and made Lehner expendable.

Any of this annoy Lehner in any way?

“It was a tough time mainly because I was out and I had constant headaches, but of course you want to be the guy who helps the team win,” Lehner said. “I think me included and everyone else on the team, we didn’t have a good first half of the season, and I think Hammond, he played amazing.”

So nope, not at all. If he has an amazing run, what can Sabres fans throw at him?

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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