BUFFALO – Injured Sabres goalie Alex Lyon could be sidelined for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, coach Lindy Ruff said prior to Thursday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Right now, (he’ll be out) a week, and we’ll go from there,” Ruff said of the strained muscle Lyon recently suffered during practice.
The postseason begins April 18 and 19. A schedule won’t be released until next week.
Lyon, 33, has been one of the Sabres’ most valuable players, compiling a 20-10-4 record with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage in 36 games.
He recently alternated starts with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen over an 18-game stretch. Now, Luukkonen, 27, will almost certainly earn most of the action.
With Lyon out – Ruff said it’s a lower-body strain – rookie goalie Colten Ellis started Thursday, his first nod since Feb. 5. Luukkonen played in Wednesday’s 5-3 road win over the New York Rangers.
Ellis, 25, has mostly served as a backup over the last two months, allowing Luukkonen or Lyon to get a full night off. He began Thursday’s game having registered a 7-4-5 mark with a 3.13 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage in 14 outings.
He replaced Lyon early in Saturday’s 6-2 road loss to the Washington Capitals.
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Late in Wednesday’s win, Sabres winger Josh Doan could’ve scored an easy empty-net goal but instead passed the puck to linemate Zach Benson, who tallied his second of the night.
Ruff called it a “total selfless play.”
“Puts a smile on your face as coach,” he said in KeyBank Center. “He could’ve easily shoveled it in himself, but passed it up for a teammate. It’s a heck of a compliment for a guy who would be looking for a goal himself, and he passes up that opportunity just get a teammate (a goal).
Doan began Thursday’s game having not scored in his last eight contests.
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When Ryan McLeod returned to the bench after beating Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin from the right circle 4:40 into Wednesday’s 5-3 win, Ruff said the center “looked right at me.”
“Because he knows I’ve said, ‘I’m going to need you to shoot it more often,’” Ruff told reporters in New York.
McLeod’s goal, his 13th this season, ended a 16-game drought.
He recently recorded just one shot on goal over a seven-game stretch. Entering Thursday’s game, he had pumped just 89 shots on goal in 79 contests this season.
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On Thursday, the Sabres made two changes on defense, inserting Zach Metsa and Logan Stanley and scratching Michael Kesselring and Conor Timmins. Up front, Jordan Greenway replaced Tanner Pearson.
Over the past week or so, Ruff and his staff have found playing time for the Sabres’ extra players, including all three defensemen.
In doing so, they want to find their third pair.
“Who that five-six will be for us. We’re trying to give everybody as opportunity,” he said. “I think guys will fit, if we play team A, maybe this guy fits, if we play Team B, maybe this guy fits, but we need to see them play.”