Alex Lyon’s Historic Run Has the Sabres Believing in More Than Just the Playoffs
BUFFALO - When the Sabres inked Alex Lyon to a two-year, $3 million deal this past offseason, the expectation was simple: provide veteran depth, push Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and maybe steal a few starts here and there. What they got instead? A 33-year-old netminder who’s become the heartbeat of one of the hottest teams in the NHL.
Lyon has gone from backup plan to franchise record-breaker. With Thursday night’s 4-1 win over the Kings, he recorded his 10th consecutive victory, breaking a 49-year-old Sabres record previously held by Gerry Desjardins. That’s not just a nice personal milestone - it’s the kind of run that can shift the trajectory of a season.
“Incredible accomplishment, really,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game, Buffalo’s fifth straight win and 20th in their last 24. “He’s battled hard since Day One of camp, coming in and understanding it’s more of a backup role but then stepping in and doing an unbelievable job and getting on the run he’s on. It’s a credit to him.”
Let’s put this into perspective: not even Dominik Hasek - yes, that Dominik Hasek - ever rattled off 10 straight wins in a Sabres sweater. Hasek, who happened to be in town and spoke with Lyon after the game at KeyBank Center, is a name often uttered with reverence in Buffalo. Lyon’s not putting himself in that tier - “I’m certainly not going to put myself anywhere near the conversation with those guys,” he said - but the numbers are hard to ignore.
Since December 9, Lyon is a perfect 10-0-0 with a 1.94 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. Those aren’t just good numbers - they’re elite. And more importantly, they’ve come at a time when Buffalo desperately needed a spark.
This team looked down and out by mid-December. A sluggish start, inconsistent play, and another year of wondering whether the NHL’s longest active playoff drought - 14 seasons and counting - would continue.
But now? The Sabres are surging, and Lyon is at the center of it.
“We’re coming in with a lot of confidence,” said winger Alex Tuch, who had himself a night with a hat trick - the fourth of his career. “Everybody’s coming in trying to prove themselves, and we’re trying to prove as a team that we’re legit. We’re not just gonna go for the playoffs, we’re gonna go for the (Stanley) Cup, and that’s our goal: get better each and every day.”
That kind of talk isn’t just locker room bravado. It’s belief, and it’s built on the back of performances like Lyon’s. He’s reading plays with precision, making tough saves look routine, and giving the Sabres a chance to win every single night.
And right now, they’ll need him more than ever. Luukkonen is sidelined for at least a week with a lower-body injury suffered in Tuesday’s 7-4 win over Toronto. That means the crease belongs to Lyon for the foreseeable future - and based on what we’ve seen, that’s not a bad thing.
“He’s feeling it right now,” Tuch said. “Every save looks so easy for him, and when you have guys like that backstopping behind you, you get all the confidence in the world.
Even when you have a breakdown, we know that he’s there to help us out. … Really proud of him.”
Tuch didn’t stop there, offering a glimpse into Lyon’s personality: “He’s a little bit crazy. And it’s a good crazy, so it’s good to have on our side. He’s not the biggest guy, he’s not the most athletic guy, he hasn’t taken the most direct route, but he’s here, he comes to work, he has a lot of fun doing it and, man, he’s a hell of a goalie.”
That “hell of a goalie” mindset is built on more than just talent. It’s about preparation, routine, and a mental edge Lyon has honed over years of grinding through the league.
“If you got the recipe leading up to the game, you got to just cradle that and not mess around with that,” Lyon said. “But I think at the same time … you can’t be fearful of losing that game. And I think that’s one thing I’ve gotten better at in my career is when you have the ups … you got to worry about the downs.”
Right now, there aren’t many downs in Buffalo. Tuch extended his goal streak to three games and hit the 20-goal mark for the fourth straight season. He opened the scoring on the power play and capped his hat trick with an empty-netter in front of a raucous crowd of 19,070.
Mattias Samuelsson added a goal of his own, stretching his personal point streak to a career-best five games, while Jack Quinn chipped in with three assists.
But the night - and this stretch - belongs to Lyon. He may not be the biggest name in the league, but right now, he’s playing like one of the best. And if he keeps it up, the Sabres won’t just be dreaming about ending their playoff drought - they’ll be thinking about how far they can go once they get there.