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Lehner: Being the back-up ‘not as easy as I thought’

St Louis Blues v Ottawa Senators

skates against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre on December 16, 2013 in Ottawa, Canada. The Senators defeated the Blues 3-2 in overtime.

Bruce Bennett

So far in the month of January, Ottawa Senators back-up goalie Robin Lehner has seen only one game. Wouldn’t you know it, he posted a 27-save shutout seven days ago against the Minnesota Wild.

The rest of the time, it’s been Craig Anderson’s net, as the Senators look to turn around this season and the American puck stopper looks to re-discover what made him so difficult to score against in recent years. Anderson, with a .902 save percentage (38th among NHL goalies) and 3.19 goals-against average (46th among NHL goalies) isn’t having a banner season. In the last two games, he’s allowed a combined nine goals on 54 shots - both losses.

For Lehner, in his first full NHL season, sitting on the bench as the No. 2 guy has been a learning experience on its own. His last start not included, Lehner had allowed 15 goals in his previous four starts in mid-December.

This isn’t the first time Ottawa’s goalie situation has become a source of debate. That includes the run of games in December for Lehner, who maintained at the time he was still Ottawa’s back-up.

But it seems to be a recurring theme, so long as both have had their share of struggles.

“It’s pretty new to me,” Lehner told the Ottawa Citizen.

“It’s not as easy as I thought, but I’m doing my best and trying to learn from it ... Just trying to play the best I can when I get a chance. That’s pretty much what I can do.”

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