The Buffalo Sabres have become addicted to excuses. Journeyman goalie Alex Lyon, who's played nine years in the NHL across four different organizations, knows that's not going to fly if the team wants to make a serious push to end its 14-year playoff drought.
Buffalo, which recently took ownership of last place in the Eastern Conference, is now trying to prevent its season from falling apart before the calendar even flips to 2026. Lyon provided some advice to his teammates as they navigate a four-game road trip.
"I've been in these situations before, where it's like the chips are down, and those are the times you have to be at your best," Lyon told Jourdon LaBarber of Sabres.com. "You have to push through it and just can't give yourself any excuses. It's no secret: that's what it's about, and it's a hard thing to do in this league."
The 32-year-old American goaltender also discussed the Blue and Gold's struggles away from the friendly confines of the KeyBank Center (0-3-2 road record).
"We just have to get better at playing on the road," Lyon said. "It's a completely different skill than playing at home. Your details just have to be that much better."
Head coach Lindy Ruff should post those two quotes on the locker room's whiteboard ahead of Wednesday night's game against the Utah Mammoth.
Alex Lyon has emerged as a bright spot amid the Buffalo Sabres' rapidly intensifying 2025-26 struggles
It barely registered on the NHL radar when the Sabres signed Lyon to a two-year, $3 million contract early in free agency. A lot has changed over the past four months.
Buffalo incumbent starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen arrived to training camp with an injury and then, after missing a majority of the preseason, his first exhibition appearance ended after just one period because of a different ailment that forced him to miss the start of the regular season.
Suddenly, Lyon was the Sabres' new starting netminder. He proceeded to seize control of the top spot on the depth chart with a terrific run play.
The Yale product has compiled a 2.92 goals against average and a .912 save percentage cross 11 appearances. Despite those strong numbers, Buffalo is just 3-5-3 in his starts.
Yes, the Sabres are dealing with several key injuries, but using those as a crutch for losing six of the past seven games is not the habit of a winning organization.
That's why Lyon's comments are so important. He's been through a lot of different situations, highlighted by leading the Florida Panthers on a late-season surge into the playoffs while replacing an ill Sergei Bobrovsky during the stretch run of the 2022-23 campaign.
Nobody cares about excuses. That's true at baseline in a results-based business like professional sports, and it's even more accurate for a franchise that hasn't qualified for the postseason since 2011 in a league where half the clubs make the playoffs.
Coming off the ice and lamenting who wasn't in the lineup or the bad bounces your team received is always going to fall of deaf ears. Taking accountability matters.
It's a character trait that's been lacking for the Sabres over the past decade, but perhaps Lyon is the voice Buffalo needs to realize that weakness.