Lehner makes 34 saves, Golden Knights shut out Capitals

WASHINGTON --Robin Lehner made 34 saves for the Vegas Golden Knights in their seventh straight road win, 1-0 against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Monday.

It was Lehner's and the Golden Knights' first shutout of the season. He made 14 saves in the third period, including a point-blank shot from Conor Sheary on a 2-on-1 with 4:47 remaining.
"We don't win tonight unless our goalie's really good. We needed that from 'Lenny,'" Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said.

Michael Amadio scored for the Golden Knights (25-15-2), who have won their past two games after losing three in a row (0-1-2). It was their first road game since Dec. 28 and the start of a four-game trip that includes games at the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
"It's nice when I get a shutout, for sure, but it's just nice to start the road trip with a win," Lehner said. "Big road trip and it was two big points for us."
Vitek Vanecek made 28 saves for the Capitals (23-11-9), who were 0-for-5 on the power play and shut out for the first time this season. They have lost seven of their past 10 games (3-5-2).
"Everybody hates losing," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "Nobody likes the scoreboard and the way it looks right now, so that's what's lousy about it. But I think if the guys continue to work and do the right things, eventually they'll get rewarded."
Amadio gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 5:29 of the second period when he swept in a rebound after Vanecek saved Brett Howden's shot from the left point.
"I just found myself in front of the net trying to battle and I snuck behind their defenders and just tapped it in there," Amadio said.

The Capitals had a two-man advantage for 1:57 less than a minute after Amadio's goal, but Lehner made two saves against Alex Ovechkin during the 5-on-3.
Ovechkin's second shot broke Lehner's mask, forcing him to wear his helmet from last season for the remainder of the game.
"It was a really hard shot to take in the head. He broke my cage," Lehner said. "It was a little scary. You felt the cage kind of bend into the cheekbone a little bit. I was lucky it wasn't a little bit harder."
Washington has not won consecutive games since Dec. 29 and 31.
"We're not hitting the panic button," Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. "We're still a good hockey team, we've still got a lot of good pieces. We're still in a really good spot in the standings. That being said, we've got to turn it around. We've got to find our consistency."
NOTES: It was the first time this season the Golden Knights won when scoring fewer than three goals. … Vegas forward Nicolas Roy left the game late in the third period after being hit on the right leg by a slap shot from teammate Shea Theodore. There was no update. … Vegas is 17-1-0 when leading after two periods. … Golden Knights forward Chandler Stephenson, who played for the Capitals from 2015-19, won 12-of-19 face-offs in 19:02 of ice time in his first game back in Washington. … Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith entered NHL COVID-19 protocol. … Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague was plus-1 in 17:54 in his return after missing eight games because of a wrist injury. … Capitals defenseman John Carlson had three shots on goal in 24:20 in his return after missing four games in COVID-19 protocol. … Ovechkin (five goals, three assists) and Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (two goals, six assists) each had his seven-game point streak end.