BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Robin Lehner said a hip injury forced him to miss Monday afternoon’s 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Lehner, who took shots this morning while most of the Sabres stayed off the KeyBank Center ice, said he had a hip injection and feels “pretty good.”
“I just needed a day,” said Lehner, who expects to be ready for Thursday’s game in Detroit.
The injury isn’t new. Lehner said he pulled his hip earlier this season.
“It’s been a little bit back and forth,” he said. “I pulled it against Colorado and just kept going through it. Eventually I just needed to fix it.”
Some teams battling for a playoff spot want to fix their goaltending, so Lehner, 26, could be moved before next Monday’s trade deadline.
The Sabres have top goalie prospect Linus Ullmark waiting in the minors. Meanwhile, Lehner’s playing on a one-year, $4 million contract and will be a restricted free agent.
“You follow it a little bit, obviously,” Lehner said of the deadline. “It’s nothing I think constantly about. In the end, we play in a pretty great league. Either I stay here or go somewhere else.”
One potential team for Lehner, the Philadelphia Flyers, acquired goalie Petr Mrazek from the Red Wings late Monday.
Lehner said he “100 percent” wants to stay with the Sabres.
“When we’re clicking and we’re playing the way we can, I think it looks good,” he said. “It’s just that we’ve all got to be on the same page and get that consistency.”
