BOSTON – You bet Buffalo Sabres goalie Alex Lyon has been experienced the gut-wrenching feeling teammate Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen likely did in Tuesday’s loss. If you tend goal long enough, inevitably, a puck shot or dumped in from center ice or another far-off locale will get by you.
In the Sabres’ 4-2 setback to the Boston Bruins in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series, Luukkonen allowed possibly the worst goal of his life, letting an 89-foot backhand flip from Morgan Geekie bounce past him.
“It stinks, but we’ve all been there,” Lyon said Wednesday in KeyBank Center. “It’s happened to everybody. It’s not the first time, it’s not going to be the last time. You guys know Upie, I think if there’s anybody that’s equipped to deal with that in the best way possible, it’s him, and he’s got a very strong mindset. …
“Nobody doubts that he’s gonna bounce back.”
It’s unclear when Luukkonen, who got pulled from Tuesday’s game 16 seconds into the third period, will get a chance to do that.
On Wednesday, Ruff refused to reveal his starter for Game 3 on Thursday at TD Garden. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1. While Ruff never names his goalie, he said following the Tuesday’s loss that Lyon “may play next game.”
Perhaps Ruff, who loves sending messages through the media in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, wants the Bruins to wonder about which netminder they’ll be facing in a pivotal contest.
The Sabres did not practice Wednesday.
Luukkonen and Lyon thrived on the road this season, each winning 10 games and combining for three shutouts.
The Sabres’ 24 road wins ranked second in the NHL.
Over an 18-game stretch late in the season, Lyon and Luukkonen formed a dynamic tandem as they alternated starts. It stopped in late March when Lyon began struggling and suffered a muscle strain.
Tuesday’s relief appearance was Lyon’s first game action since April 4.
“I think the strength of our team was we alternated goaltenders for a long period of time,” Ruff said. “I know we’ve put a lot of load on UPL here of late, Lyon has been hurt. But you know that we’re comfortable using either guy. …
“Regardless of which goaltender’s going to be in the net, there’s some areas of the game that we need to focus on and we need to be better at.”
That focus starts with the struggling power play, which has converted zero of its last 31 chances over the past nine games, including nine opportunities in the postseason.
On Tuesday, winger Jack Quinn missed a one-timer into a half-open net that could’ve put the Sabres up.
“There’s two or three other good opportunities that would give us the lead in the game and put you in a better place,” Ruff said.
He said following Tuesday’s game tweaks could be coming to the units.
The Sabres’ five-on-five attack has also had its problems. In Sunday’s thrilling come-from-behind 4–3 win and again Tuesday, they scored all of their goals in short spans late in the third period after falling behind.
The Bruins love to drop five players back and clog things up.
“We faced that for most of the year with almost every team we played in the second half, that teams were making sure they have bodies, we have to get them behind,” Ruff said. “We were getting pretty good at creating opportunities off of offensive-zone play.”
The Sabres also struggled to control the puck.
“I think we missed plays that we don’t normally miss, and part of that was our puck play wasn’t as good as the previous game,” Ruff said.
The previous game, Sunday’s triumph, put the Sabres on an emotional high.
“One of the hardest things to do in the playoffs, especially when you’re going every other day, is when you have success and when you win a game, to be able to control that emotion as well,” Lyon said. “It works in the same way as the negativity, and you’ve got to enjoy it, but at the same time, you can’t let yourself get swept up in the fanfare and the grandness of it.”