The designs on goalie masks are not just works of art. They can also be a reflection of the player's personality and interests off the ice.
Some goalies over the years have taken their designs in a musical direction and used them as a way to pay tribute to their favorite bands.
Former Capitals and Penguins goalie Brent Johnson, for example, always had some sort of reference to Led Zeppelin on his masks.
That brings us to new Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner. He, too, tends to showcase his musical interests on his mask. And the type of music Lehner is interested in: Swedish death metal.
Specifically, the band In Flames that is from the same home town (Gothenburg) as Lehner.
Here is a look at his new mask, designed by famed goalie mask artist Dave Gunnarsson, via Gunnarsson's Facebook page, that pays tribute to the band.
That symbol on the top is a jester head which appears on several of In Flames' album covers and has become a symbol for the band.
Writes Gunnarsson:
Robin and I had a vision to create a dark and gritty design, inspired by nightmares…With a violent look filled with scratches and marks and splatter, the design transforms into a tribute to Robin Lehner´s favorite music…The matte finish of the mask helps the design to become something totally spectacular…
"Inspired by nightmares" is a great way to describe a goalie mask.
It's actually not the first time Gunnarsson has helped Lehner create a mask inspired by his favorite type of music as his mask with the Ottawa Senators this past season was also inspired by the band In Flames.
Lehner, 24, spent the first five years of his career with the Ottawa Senators organization after they selected him in the second round of the draft in 2009. He was traded to the Buffalo Sabres, along with veteran center David Legwand, this summer in exchange for one of the Sabres' three first-round draft picks in 2015. He is expected to be their No. 1 goaltender.
