BUFFALO – Following perhaps the worst start of Alex Lyon’s life – a one-save outing in which he allowed three goals – Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said he gave the goalie a pat of the back and some words of encouragement.
Throughout the regular season, Lyon, 33, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, 27, formed perhaps the NHL’s best goaltending tandem, often alternating starts. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Sabres have leaned on both netminders.
So after Ruff yanked Lyon just 10:14 into Saturday’s 8-3 win in Montreal, he told him, “Listen, we’re going to keep using both.”
“And that’s really been the message the whole year,” Ruff said Sunday in the 4 Seasons Hotel Montreal. “Those guys have supported each other. It’s a time of desperation right now.
“He was the biggest supporter of UPL. As soon as he went in, I think he might have been the happiest guy in the room.”
Luukkonen stopped all 18 shots he faced in relief in Game 6 as the Sabres roared back to score seven unanswered goals and tie the best-of-seven second-round series at 3.
While Ruff did not name tonight’s starter for Game 7 against the Canadiens, it will almost certainly be Luukkonen, who has registered a 3-2 record with a 3.36 goals-against average and an .875 save percentage in five games during the playoffs. He has been pulled from two games.
Even after his disastrous outing at the Bell Centre, Lyon has registered a 4-3 mark with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in 10 games.