When Buffalo Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner was pulled from Tuesday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs he was visibly angry -- but do you blame him? Lehner let in three goals on four shots in less than ten minutes. Just like that the Sabres saw a 2-0 lead turn into a 3-2 deficit.
As Lehner got to the bench he slammed his helmet in disgust and instantly the Twitter machines exploded, criticizing Lehner's reaction and how he handled things.
On Thursday he explained his side of the story.
First, watch this video for a better sense at what was being said online about Lehner.
Robin Lehner waves at a fan, then get's pulled and shows his frustration to her and the coach ??... #Awkward pic.twitter.com/x5Gs28zdNT
— Bar South N Celly™ (@BarSouthNCelly) January 18, 2017
"I get mad," Lehner said Thursday. "I have a history of maybe being short-fused but you know what, I can't change it."
Lehner went on to say "commentators don't know what they're talking about."
Here's his full comments:
Robin Lehner explained what happened after he was pulled & how it blew out of proportion on Twitter #Sabres @WKBW pic.twitter.com/8Vux0qOrZ4
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) January 19, 2017
Bove's take:
This is pretty simple. The dude had a bad game, it happens, and he was mad. Lehner is a competitive athlete, this won't the first time he's angry and it won't be the last.
Lehner's right, he probably should've carried himself differently, but this literally happens with athletes all the time. On Monday Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn was snapping sticks out of frustration on the Dallas bench. He took some heat on Twitter, but not nearly as much, at least from what I saw. In Toronto everything is magnified and when you're a player who has a history of getting hot-headed these mini-tirades won't be overlooked.
This wasn't that big of a deal. I understand by posting this story you could argue that it was -- but after today it won't be something that gets brought up until the next time Lehner gets pulled.
For his sake, hopefully that's not anytime soon.
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