Goalie Alex Lyon has returned to Buffalo to be examined by the Sabres’ doctors after suffering a lower-body injury late in Monday’s 4-2 road win over the St. Louis Blues, coach Lindy Ruff told reporters in Dallas.
“Right now, it’s going to be a bit of time,” Ruff said prior to tonight’s game against the Stars.
Ruff said rookie goalie Colten Ellis, who suffered a concussion Dec. 9 in Edmonton, will be activated from injured reserve.
While Lyon is out, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will likely earn most of the action. In his last two outings spelling Lyon, the Finn has compiled a 2-0-0 record with a 1.00 goal-against average and a .960 save percentage.
“You look at these last couple games, he’s played very well,” Ruff said of Luukkonen. “I think he’s found his game, and we know that in Lyon’s absence, we’ve got Ellis that we believe we can win games. We’ve got UPL that we got full faith in him winning hockey games for us.”
Lyon emerged as the NHL’s hottest goalie and the Sabres’ backbone during the nine-game win streak they carried into Wednesday’s contest, compiling a 7-0-0 record with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in seven games.