Ottawa’s crowded goalie position just got a little breathing room.
On Tuesday, the Senators announced they assigned Robin Lehner to AHL Binghamton, meaning Ben Bishop will move into the No. 2 spot behind starter Craig Anderson.
The Sens had been carrying three goalies since the start of the regular season, with Lehner dressing as Anderson’s backup for both games thus far.
While there’s been jockeying for Ottawa’s reserve gig, the starting goalie job is all but locked up -- Anderson has been brilliant, allowing just one goal on 59 shots in wins over Winnipeg and Florida.
Part of the reason for assigning Lehner, 21, to Binghamton was because the Senators were able to. He’s still on an entry-level whereas Bishop is an RFA.
It’s also possible the Sens wanted to see Lehner continue to excel at the AHL level. The Swedish netminder has 14 wins and currently ranks second among AHL goaltenders in save percentage (.945 percent) and is third in goals-against-average (1.90).