In the first period, he gave up a goal on the first shot he faced against his old team, the Ottawa Senators. In the second period, he left the game with an apparent injury after stretching to make a save. He was replaced by backup netminder Chad Johnson.
There did not appear to be contact on Lehner prior to him grimacing on the ice. He tried to stand back up after sliding through his crease, but ended up taking a knee before leaving the ice surface.
UPDATE: Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma provided the following update regarding Lehner. It does not sound good for the club's new netminder.
Robin Lehner's injury is not expected to be short term, coach Dan Bylsma says.
— John Vogl (@BuffNewsVogl) October 9, 2015
Additionally, Lehner was spotted on crutches and in a walking boot after the game:
Lehner left FNC on crutches with a boot on his right foot. #Sabres pic.twitter.com/bemL5W5ozJ
— Joe Yerdon (@JoeYerdon) October 9, 2015
Goaltending has been a problem for this club since Ryan Miller was traded away two seasons ago. It may continue to be with a relative lack of depth at the position in the organization.
The Sabres acquired Lehner as part of their big draft-day push to improve their roster ahead of taking forward Jack Eichel with the second overall pick. The Sens sent Ottawa one of their three first-round picks they had going into the 2015 NHL Entry Draft for Lehner and forward David Legwand.
Lehner was expected to finally take a No. 1 job after sharing starts over the past five season while in the Senators organization. He appeared in 25 games last season in Ottawa and posted a .905 save percentage to go along with a 9-12-3 record.
In the 27:30 Lehner played for the Sabres before departing, he stopped 11 of 12 shots.
