For the first time in these playoffs, the Buffalo Sabres had Alex Lyon on the ice after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on 19 shots. There has been plenty of intensity in this series, and Lyon wasted no time getting in the middle of it in Game 2.
Shortly after entering the game in place of Luukkonen, the cameras caught Lyon in a break of the action, seemingly looking for a fight with Boston Bruins forward Tanner Jeannot. While nothing came of it in that moment, it shows how fired up both teams are in a series that is now tied at one.
On Wednesday, Lyon was asked about that moment and how much he likes this time of year. "I like that aspect of the game. I think I probably bother some guys on our team because I take that approach too often when I should probably just put it in the back pocket every once in a while," Lyon said.
The Sabres goalie certainly toed the line where he didn't want to give the Bruins any bulletin board material, but wanted to make it clear that he wasn't going to back down in the moment. "At the end of the day, you still have respect for the guys on the other team, and they're phenomenal players. They have a really good team, so you don't want to lose sight of that either."
Will Alex Lyon be the starter for the Buffalo Sabres in Game 3 against the Boston Bruins?
After a rough performance by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in Game 2, the Sabres coaching staff is seriously considering making a switch in net for their next game. On Wednesday, Lindy Ruff was not willing to commit to either goalie, and this is probably more just trying to get a little advantage over Boston, so they need to prepare for both goalies.
When looking at Alex Lyon's first season in its entirety, he was excellent for Buffalo and one of the reasons they ended their 14-season playoff drought. He went 20-10-4 in 34 starts in the regular season with a save percentage of .906 and a goals against average of 2.77.
However, Lyon did struggle down the stretch, which could give the Sabres pause as he allowed 13 goals over his last three regular season appearances. In the third period of Game 2, though, he stopped all seven shots he faced.
Whether it is Lyon or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in net for Game 3, the Buffalo Sabres are going to need an incredible performance if they want to regain the momentum in this series. The pressure will be on that goalie, and based on the comments on Wednesday, Lyon seems up to the task.
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