Over the summer, the Buffalo Sabres made a change at goalie by signing free agent Alex Lyon to replace James Reimer. He started 69 games over the past two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, which was the most work he has had in the NHL to date in his career.
Lyon was expected to be an upgrade as the backup goalie to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen but now will be much more than that to begin the season. Unfortunately for the Sabres, they are going to be without Luukkonen at least for some time to begin the season.
Luukkonen entered training camp with an injury that the Sabres tried to be cautious with and let him fully heal ahead of beginning practice. They were patient and Luukkonen was considered ready to return in the fifth preseason game of the year.
However, his return was short-lived as he played only one period before suffering a different lower-body injury, according to the team. While not confirmed, it seems almost likely that he will miss some time to start the regular season, being considered week-to-week.
Could Alex Lyon take over the starting job for the Buffalo Sabres?
Enter Alex Lyon, who might be the ultimate x-factor and the difference maker the Buffalo Sabres need to finally end their playoff drought. In two seasons with the Red Wings, he had a save percentage of .901 and a goals against average of 2.96, but he also didn't have the best defense in front of him.
According to Money Puck, Lyon was just outside the Top 30 among goalies in Goals Saved Above Expected at around 2. However, the season prior to that he was with the Florida Panthers and played well down the stretch as he went 4-1-1 with a save percentage of .946 and a goals against average of 1.83. That season, Money Puck had Lyon as a Top 20 goalie with a Goals Saved Above Expected of 7.5.
Now the Sabres are not going to be confused with the Florida Panthers, but they have the potential to be one of the better defensive groups in the league with Rasmus Dahlin, Bo Byram, and Owen Power. If the Sabres give that extra help for Lyon, there is no reason that he can't get closer to his numbers in Florida compared to Detroit.
If he starts the season off strong, there is no guarantee that the Sabres will go back to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen once he is healthy. While there are many reasons for the Sabres not reaching the playoffs last season but the performance in net is one of the big ones. If Lyon can shore up that position, the playoff drought might finally come to an end.