BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� It wasn鈥檛 satisfying enough for goalie Alex Lyon to have Viktor Arvidsson鈥檚 penalty shot glance off his blocker and deflect wide of the net.
Lyon decided to pile on the forward’s grief. He began chirping a few words at Arvidsson following the failed attempt that prevented the Boston Bruins from building on a 1-0 lead in of their first-round playoff series.
The moment and Lyon鈥檚 response, coming in his first career playoff start for Buffalo, captured the fearless and competitive approach the 33-year-old goalie has developed over a journeyman career.
鈥淚 think when you鈥檙e young, it鈥檚 easy to get intimidated by the moment,鈥� Lyon said.
鈥淏ut once you start thinking about it in terms of the game, it鈥檚 about wining and losing at the end of the day. And that鈥檚 the only thing I鈥檓 trying to do,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just gamesmanship.鈥�
It鈥檚 an attitude that鈥檚 earned Lyon the starting duties in taking over after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen struggled in a 4-2 loss in Game 2 loss to Boston. Lyon’s gone 4-1 since, including a 26-save outing in a against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Lyon posting elite numbers in playoffs
Entering Game 2 on Friday night, Lyon鈥檚 1.3 goals-against average and .950 save percentage rank second among players with five or more starts this postseason. And it follows Lyon’s first Sabres season in which he went 20-10-4 splitting the starting duties and helping the Buffalo end and win its first Atlantic Division title.
Very little appears to rattle Lyon. Or rather, the goalie said, he does his best to hide it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about perception,鈥� Lyon said. 鈥淚t probably dawned on me five or six years ago, that if you just continue to keep pushing through the bad times, it will always turn around for the better.鈥�
The philosophy has carried him through a nine-year pro career spanning five NHL teams.
Lyon is relentless in refusing to give up on plays even when out of position, and included him doing a near-somersault to get from one post to the other and get a piece of Morgan Geekie鈥檚 shot in the first round. Add in his engaging and upbeat personality, and Lyon has endeared himself to his team.
鈥淚 really love guys like that, hates to lose and wants their opponents to look bad. I really feed off that,鈥� captain Rasmus Dahlin said. 鈥淗e loves big moments. That鈥檚 when he thrives.鈥�
Coach Lindy Ruff called Lyon鈥檚 approach 鈥渋nfectious.鈥�
鈥淓very goalie has their own personality, and his personality has a lot of fire in it. He鈥檚 a character and it鈥檚 something the group likes,鈥� Ruff said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 even know if I鈥檝e seen him have a bad day.鈥�
Lyon admits to having plenty of bad days. But they come with territory, much like accepting he鈥檚 not going to stop every shot.
From Baudette, Minnesota, Lyon was an undrafted free-agent out of Yale upon signing with the Philadelphia Flyers. He went 6-7-2 in five years in Philadelphia, and split the next four seasons between Carolina, Florida and Detroit, where he went 35-27-6 over two seasons.
He went 1-2 in four playoff appearances with Florida鈥檚 Stanley Cup Final-losing team in 2023, though Lyon was only filling in for injured starter Sergei Bobrovsky.
Drawing upon minor league experience
San Jose Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky saw many of the same qualities when coaching Lyon with the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves in 2021-22. The 29-year-old went 9-3 in leading the Wolves to win the Calder Cup championship.
鈥淒id not want to give up the net,鈥� Warsofsky told The Associated Press by phone Friday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not, obviously, an easy league to play in, but every day he was the same guy,” he added. 鈥淚t just shows you that everyone develops a little bit differently on different timelines, and sometimes you need an opportunity and he鈥檚 gotten a really good opportunity.鈥�
Lyon fondly reflects upon his past by saying playing for numerous teams at various levels helped him learn more about himself. And breaking into the NHL as an older player after years in the minors were lessons in maintaining confidence, adapting to riding the highs and lows, and learning to put team success first.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really difficult as a young player to not get caught up in the day to day and thinking about production,鈥� Lyon said. 鈥淭he less you think about that, the less you worry about that, the better things are.鈥�
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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.
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