Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner to have season-ending shoulder surgery

Lehner initially sustained the injury on February 9 against the Calgary Flames. Daily Faceoff’s insider Frank Seravalli reported back on February 15 that Lehner would need surgery, but the Golden Knights denied that claim. They attempted to rest and rehab the injury, and Lehner returned from the injury on March 1, but ultimately he discussed with the team that surgery was necessary.

There were also reports that Lehner was going to have the surgery on April 22, but the team immediately denied it as well, and ended up dressing Lehner as the backup goalie in Sunday's game against the San Jose Sharks.

Lehner will finish the season with a 23-17-2 record with the Golden Knights, as well as a .907 save percentage in 44 games. It will be a huge blow for a Vegas team on the brink of playoff elimination, as they currently sit in ninth in the Western Conference with a 42-31-6 record. They are three points back of the Dallas Stars for the final Wild Card spot, and play the Stars on Tuesday night. A regulation loss in that game will result in them officially being eliminated from the playoffs.

The Golden Knights also announced that goaltender Jiri Patera has been called up from the Henderson Silver Knights in response to the injury.