The Buffalo Sabres saw Mattias Samuelsson and Olen Zellweger leave early in the preseason game on Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Unfortunately, the Sabres will be leaving the preseason game on Thursday night with more uncertainty after Alex Lyon left in the first period after injuring his shoulder.
The play occurred towards the end of the period as Lyon tried to make a diving save. He immediately got up and skated to the bench, pointing to his shoulder. Lyon would be replaced by Colten Ellis and he will finish the rest of the game.
Lyon finished the game playing 18 minutes with seven saves on eight shots.
It remains to be seen what the severity of the injury is and whether Lyon will miss any of the regular season, which starts one week from the preseason game against the Red Wings. Unlike the blueline, the Sabres are in a better position to handle Lyon's absence after carrying three goalies all of last season and were planning on doing the same this season.
Lyon had one of the best seasons of his career last season with the Sabres as he went 20-10-4 with a save percentage of .904 and a goals against average of 2.77. He was one of the reasons the Sabres ended their playoff drought because he was essentially the starter to begin the season as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was injured last training camp.
Colten Ellis might have a golden opportunity to begin the season if Alex Lyon is forced to miss any games
If Lyon does miss any time, then Colten Ellis would be in line for more opportunities to begin the season. Ellis was claimed on waivers by the Sabres ahead of the regular season, and he remained in Buffalo the entire year.
He would appear in 16 games and had a save percentage of .903 and a goals against average of 2.90. When looking ahead to after the season, Lyon and Ellis are both set to be unrestricted free agents however that could change for Ellis.
Ellis is currently set to be a Group-6 unrestricted free agent, but if he appears in 13 games with 30 or more minutes of ice time, he will become a restricted free agent. The Sabres are going to need to make sure that Ellis reaches that mark because he looks to be in line to be the primary backup moving forward after this season.
Hopefully, this is not a long-term injury for Alex Lyon and he will be ready for the start of the season. However, the Sabres have the luxury of not rushing him back with Colten Ellis on the roster and a few extra starts early could help them in the pursuit of making sure he is a restricted free agent after the season.
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