BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, who missed Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime loss in Philadelphia, is still sidelined by the flu.
Lehner, the fourth player to become ill recently, stayed home today, his third straight day off the ice. The other Sabres have recovered in about two days, coach Dan Bylsma said.
While Bylsma didn’t rule Lehner out of Thursday’s home tilt against the Minnesota Wild, it appears unlikely he will play.
Backup Anders Nilsson subbed admirably for Lehner against the Flyers, stopping 38 shots in his first appearance this season. The Sabres, however, imploded late, blowing a 3-0 third-period lead.
“I thought he played a very good game, solid game, was very strong in the net,” Bylsma said following practice inside KeyBank Center. “He’s one guy I’m disappointed for at the end of the game, because he had played a whale of game for us and one we should’ve gotten a win for him.”
The Sabres’ third straight loss, a game they led 3-1 in the waning minutes, was clearly still gnawing at Bylsma today.
Bylsma, whose team is just 1-2-2, just doesn’t want to simply cast the game aside.
“I don’t want to ever forget it,” he said. “We can’t forget it. … If we want to be a good team, if we want to be a winning team, this is a game we have to learn a lesson from.”