Buffalo Sabres goalie Alex Lyon departed the morning skate ahead of Monday night's critical road game against the New York Rangers with a lower-body injury.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff explained the staff decided to exercise caution since Colten Ellis was already scheduled to back up starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen against the Rangers.
"He just tweaked something lower-body wise and we just decided to keep him off," Ruff told reporters. "Don't take any chances, seeing that we have three [goaltenders] here."
It's an ill-timed setback for Lyon, who's struggled mightily over his last three appearances (0-2-1 with an unsightly .772 save percentage). The 33-year-old journeyman was Buffalo's most dependable netminder for most of the season, but his recent drop off in performance (.847 SV% in his past six starts) has led to UPL assuming a more standard No. 1 goalie role.
In addition, Lyon was pulled from the Sabres' 6-2 loss to the Washington Capitals last week after allowing three goals in the game's first six minutes. Ellis replaced him, which marked the No. 3 goaltender's first appearance since a Feb. 3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The injury, combined with the Yale product's poor play as of late, creates some uncertainty about how Buffalo will handle the crease in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Buffalo Sabres' NHL postseason hopes may rest solely on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's shoulders
It's been a wild ride in net for the Sabres this season.
Luukkonen arrived to training camp with a minor injury and didn't have much initial success upon his return, posting an .884 SV% across his 10 games of the campaign.
Buffalo was quite fortunate Lyon stepped up admirably to fill the void. He was one of the few bright spots as the club stumbled to an 11-14-4 start before everything finally turned around, with a Dec. 9 win over the Edmonton Oilers sparking an incredible 33-6-2 run.
UPL, Lyon and Ellis all had their moments in the spotlight as the Blue and Gold surged up the Eastern Conference standings. In fact, the trio played so well it prevented the front office from bringing an end to the three-goalie logjam.
Yet, the Sabres suddenly found themselves making a push for the Atlantic Division title and the top seed in the East. So, coming out of the Olympic break in February, Ruff switched to a straight rotation of Luukkonen and Lyon, which left Ellis with no game action for two months.
Now, with Lyon's status a bit unsettled after the early exit on Monday, Buffalo would probably prefer to get Ellis a full 60-minute appearance before the playoffs, but that may not be possible.
The Sabres are still trying to hunt down the Atlantic crown, which would avoid a difficult first-round matchup with either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Montreal Canadiens, but doing so may come down to the season's final game. If that's the case, UPL would likely draw every start down the stretch.
As a result, what was once a three-goaltender luxury has transformed into a situation where Buffalo is going to go as far as Luukkonen can take them.
Lyon was already scuffling before the lower-body ailment and it'd be tough to call on Ellis, a rookie, in a postseason situation given how little he's played since the Olympics.
The good news for the Sabres is UPL has been playing some of the best hockey of his career. The team has gone 11-3-1 over his last 15 outings, and he's compiled a terrific .919 SV% in those contests.
Buffalo will have a golden opportunity to make a deep playoff run if he can maintain that level of play for another few months, while taking on a much heavier workload.
That said, the Sabres' margin for error is smaller if Luukkonen is the only viable option in the crease with the serious question marks about Lyon and Ellis.
What started as a three-headed monster may now become a one-man band.