Allowing four goals on just 24 shots certainly wasn’t the way Ottawa Senators prospect Robin Lehner imagined his first career NHL start would play out. But by becoming the 12th youngest goaltender in NHL history to notch the accomplishment, he battled hard and came out victorious with a 6-4 win over the New York Islanders. Read below for our audio and written scouting report along with the game highlights, courtesy of the NHL.com website.

+ Lehner’s rebound control was an obvious weakness in tonight’s game. A number of hard shots from the point came off his pads very hard, but he did do a great job of battling to find the puck and then recovering to seal holes very quickly. Although the lack of control was a true sign of nerves, he still made some quality saves, especially in the third period.

+ Lehner’s footwork was very loud in tonight’s game and as a result, he did not appear comfortable very often. A few sequences in the third period were much smoother than in the first period, but overall he battled to control his body and his foot. He almost had a disastrous gaffe in the third period on a slow-moving puck that he completely missed with his stick, but the dump-in went wide of the net.

+ Technically speaking, Lehner has terrific fundamentals for a raw-skilled 19-year-old Swedish prospect. He plays a wide butterfly style and does like to stay deep in his crease. But on a handful of shots where he was able to challenge the shooter, he did step well outside of his crease to eliminate any space in the low or upper corners. His net presence is terrific and his overall size is daunting. He fills up a ton of space in the net when he’s on his knees and keeps his back fairly straight to eliminate space up high.

+ One of Lehner’s strengths that I find to be very appealing is his fast recovery mechanics. For his size, his ability to snap knees, arms and feet back into place after giving up a rebound is a true sign of his overall quickness. It may lead him to lose balance or get caught moving on shots that are released quickly, but at his current level, it is a terrific sign of things to come.

+ Because Lehner did not face a lot of shots on a consistent basis throughout the game, I like the way he battled in the third period. It can be extremely tough for a goalie in their first career start to display poise and patience in a lop-sided game like this one. An energetic and capable prospect like Lehner will want to face as much action as possible, so it was no easy task for him to stay collected in this game.

+ When it comes to Lehner’s demeanor, I loved the confidence he displayed throughout the game. This was revealed by his propensity to move the puck behind his net. He had a good success rate handling the puck and he never once looked to be unable to manage the speed of an NHL game. His vision was relatively solid throughout the game and as I discuss in the audio scouting notes, he battled hard to track the puck.