Sabres Notebook: Alex Lyon goes for franchise record as club awaits word on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon is expected to get the start for the red-hot Sabres' game against the Los Angeles Kings and is looking for his 10th consecutive win, a feat no goalie in franchise history has reached.
As the Buffalo Sabres wait for word on the status of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, fellow goaltender Alex Lyon can claim a neat part of franchise history Thursday night at KeyBank Center.
Lyon is expected to get the start for the red-hot Sabres' game against the Los Angeles Kings and is looking for his 10th consecutive win, a feat no goalie in franchise history has reached.
Luukkonen hobbled off the ice Tuesday in Toronto with a lower-body injury apparently suffered on Auston Matthews' first-period goal. Colten Ellis stopped 16 of 18 shots the rest of the way in a 7-4 win that improved his record to 7-4 on the season.
Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon looks on in the second period against the Devils on Nov. 28, 2025, at KeyBank Center.
Joed Viera, Buffalo News
Luukkonen's injury, of course, could impact his participation with Finland at the Olympics, so the Sabres are going to be ultra-cautious with him. The three-goalie system, often considered a pain in this day and age, has really helped this club.
"We've had good goaltending and the fact we've had three with the injuries we've had ... three has been a blessing for us as it has turned out," coach Lindy Ruff said Wednesday. "Sometimes tough to deal with, but it's turned out to be a strength of ours, and it's gotten us through a lot of games."
Lyon, who got dressed and stayed in the locker room on Tuesday in case Ellis was hurt, is coming off a shutout of the New York Islanders on Saturday in Elmont. He's 12-6-3 with a 2.70 goals-against average and 9.11 save percentage this season.
And he's put together a streak that Dominik Hasek, Ryan Miller, and Tom Barrasso never did here. Nine straight wins has Lyon tied with Gerry Desjardins (1976-77).
"Really an incredible accomplishment," Ruff said. "You run through all those different goaltenders that have been here and now all of a sudden, he's the one who has put together a streak like that. He's put together a really impressive group of games for us."
"It's crazy to me, and it's largely team-based," Lyon said. "The team has been playing so consistently, and it makes our job so eas,y but it was very surprising. Hasek was my favorite goalie growing up, so it's lik,e how did he not get that at some point? Just because he was so unbelievable."
Greenway's status is uncertain
The Sabres are still without any real answers on forward Jordan Greenway, who is having recovery issues from his offseason hernia issues. Keeping him out of back-to-backs has only helped Greenway a limited amount.The Sabres team doctors are expected to meet on Thursday to discuss some potential different approaches, and Ruff said another consult for Greenway with his surgeon might be an option as well. So might sitting through the Olympic break.
"Greenway could play, but he's really being hampered," Ruff said. "The way we look at it, we're healthy and we've got an extra guy and I really like the way (Tyson) Kozak has been playing at the same time. ... Let's just see if we can get 'Greener' in a better place."
Kulich back on the ice
Ruff said center Jiri Kulich, sidelined since the first week of November due to blood clots, has been skating on his own but the team is simply not able to put any timetable on his return until he can return to practice and start to take contact. With the clotting problem, any sort of contact can be dangerous.Ruff said Kulich started skating in a tracksuit and moved to full equipment so he could begin shooting pucks again.
Kings update
Los Angeles posted its third straight win with Tuesday's 3-1 victory in Detroit in the opener of a five-game trip.The Kings have points in six straight games (3-0-3) and nine of 11 (5-2-4). They entered Wednesday tied with San Jose for the West's second wild card and their 13 overtime/shootout losses were the most in the league.