Lehner, Smith land on IR, bringing Golden Knights' total to 7
The growing number of injured Vegas Golden Knights players is now over half a dozen.
Vegas placed goaltender Robin Lehner and forward Reilly Smith on injured reserve Monday. They're the sixth and seventh members of the club currently carrying that designation.
Lehner missed the last three games with a lower-body ailment. He also sat out five contests in February due to injury before returning on March 1. The Golden Knights' top netminder is 21-15-1 over 38 games - all starts - with a .909 save percentage this season.
Smith also missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury. He's collected 16 goals and 22 assists over 56 contests in 2021-22.
The pair joins star winger Mark Stone, defensemen Alec Martinez and Brayden McNabb, and forwards Mattias Janmark and Brett Howden on IR.
Max Pacioretty, who's dealt with numerous ailments this season, left Friday's loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and missed Sunday's defeat against the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, he's not currently on injured reserve. Nolan Patrick was previously on IR and hadn't played since Feb. 16, but Vegas activated him for Sunday's game.
The Golden Knights have lost the first four contests of their five-game road trip and are in danger of slipping out of a playoff spot. Vegas sits fourth in the Pacific Division in both total points and point percentage, but the Vancouver Canucks are only three points behind them with a game in hand. The Anaheim Ducks trail the Golden Knights by four points with one more contest played.