When Robin Lehner was suffered a fluky high ankle sprain in Buffalo’s opening game of the season against his former employer, the Ottawa Senators, the originally prognosis was that the hulking Swede would be lost to the Sabres from between 6-10 weeks.
The injury occurred on October 8 which was six weeks ago.
Pierre LeBrun reported on "Insider Trading" that Lehner has suffered a “little setback… in his recovery.
Uh, what kind of "setback".
LeBrun says Lehner’s projected return is now for mid-to-late December.
All along, I've been saying that we Lehner will not be ready to play again until at Christmas week. This new setback news may well push Lehner's return to early January.
Earlier this month, Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma was encouraged when asked about Lehner's rehabilitation.
"He’s actually done two-a-days for many of the days of the week," Bylsma said. "He’s doing really well. He’s working really hard, but he’s not close yet to getting back on the ice."
Lehner's recovery may also be delayed by his overall fitness level. He suffered a major concussion last February 14. He was not able to practice on ice until late July when he was medically cleared for contact in late July. Lehner spent his summer in his native Sweden and when he arrived in Buffalo for captain's skates in mid-August, he appeared to have gained weight due to his inability to train on the ice and at the gym for the five months while he recovered from his head injury. Lehner was making progress on his overall conditioning during training camp. Then, at the 30 minute mark of Buffalo's season opener, Lehner left his crease to play a puck in his trapezoid behind his net and lost his balance due to a large rut in the ice. Lehner was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. Lehner has been seen at the arena wearing a walking boot.
Orthopedic doctors will tell you that high ankle sprains can be more difficult to heal as longer term injuries than actual bone breaks. Rest and recovery are the two things that assist in successful healing process from high ankle sprains. Each person's ability to heal is different from the next.
There is no way to accurately predict when Lehner will return to the goal crease in Buffalo. And when he does return, there is no guarantee that Lehner will be the starting goalie. In his absence, the Sabres have learned a lot about their two back up goalies.
Thankfully, Dan Bylsma has young Swede Linus Ullmark and veteran Chad Johnson.
Ullmark has been heroic in his first nine starts. He is 4-4-1 with a .925 save percentage and a respectable 2.28 GAA.
Ullmark has a .930 save percentage in six starts in the month of November. The Minion Man has more than adequately stepped in and performed great work in Lehner's absence.
Johnson is 4-7-1 with a .901 save percentage and 2.70 GAA.
The Sabres have lost five straight games, however, goaltending is not the reason for the losses. The Sabres have scored five goals in their past five games. Ullmark and Johnson have played tremendously all things considered.