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Alex Lyon

East Notes: Michkov, Lyon, Marchand

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The Philadelphia Flyers completed a dramatic overtime victory over the Minnesota Wild yesterday, but not everything is going smoothly so far to start the season in Philadelphia. While the Flyers have compiled a decent 2-2-1 record to start the year, one of the more notable emerging storylines on the Flyers has been the usage of star second-year forward Matvei Michkov. According to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, the 2023 seventh-overall pick was once again benched by head coach Rick Tocchet late in last night’s game, with Kurz attributing the move to “too many ineffective shifts and careless plays with the puck.”

Michkov has struggled thus far under Tocchet, with just one goal and zero assists through five games. While he remains the Flyers’ top power play forward in terms of time-on-ice per game, his overall usage has declined from 16:41 per game last season to just 14:50 this year. While Tocchet’s usage of Michkov may ultimately help the young forward develop a more well-rounded all-around game, it’s also potentially fair to question whether taking this approach with Michkov, who is one of the Flyers’ most lethal offensive weapons, ultimately hurts the team’s chances to win more than it helps.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Buffalo Sabres have rebounded in a strong way since their 0-3-0 start, rattling off consecutive dominant victories against two of last year’s playoff teams: the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers. While Zach Benson’s return from injury has greatly helped matters, leading the charge for the Sabres has been netminder Alex Lyon, who was signed for $1.5MM AAV this past summer to be the backup to starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Lyon has a .929 save percentage through five games this season, a mark that ranks third in the NHL among goalies with four starts or more. While Luukkonen is likely to remain the team’s go-to starter whenever he recovers from his injury, Lyon is putting together a strong case to receive an increased workload as a backup.
  • Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand was fined $5K by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety today, for unsportsmanlike conduct committed in yesterday’s 3-0 loss to the Sabres. The unsportsmanlike conduct occurred midway through the second period when Marchand got into a scuffle with Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin. Dahlin had cross-checked Marchand, and Marchand went after Dahlin as a result, delivering a few punches. Marchand was ultimately taken to the penalty box, but he travelled there with Dahlin’s helmet in hand, and once in the penalty box, Marchand proceeded to rip several straps off of Dahlin’s helmet and toss it back onto the ice. This is not the first time Marchand has gotten into trouble for an unconventional kind of unsportsmanlike conduct: during the 2018 playoffs, Marchand was officially warned by the league after he licked the face of then-Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan.

Alex Lyon Set To Start For Sabres

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After a number of moves of late, the Buffalo Sabres are set between the pipes, at least for now; as Alex Lyon will start tomorrow’s game against the Rangers. Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald wrote that the veteran is dialed in, treating it as “just another game.”

While the mindset is admirable, there will be considerable pressure on Lyon to fill in adequately for injured starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Already such uncertainty in net is unfortunate for a Sabres club that desperately needs a strong start. Despite signing a two-year deal in Buffalo over the summer, Lyon did face competition in camp. Along with top prospect Devon Levi, who was reassigned to AHL Rochester, Buffalo brought in a notable name in Alexander Georgiev, who cleared waivers earlier today. Finally, the team claimed Colten Ellis on waivers two days ago, who will back up Lyon for now. Ellis, 25, is an intriguing pickup given his impressive AHL stats in the Blues organization, however, the Nova Scotia native has yet to play in the NHL. 

It’s fair to say that a tandem of Lyon and Ellis is questionable at best, however, Lyon will look to prove any doubters wrong, and as he told Hoppe, it is nothing new as his path to the NHL has not been easy. Originally undrafted out of Yale, Lyon spent four seasons mainly with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, with spontaneous call-ups for the Flyers. After stops in Carolina and Florida, where he helped lead the Chicago Wolves to the 2022 Calder Cup, Lyon established himself as a full-time NHLer with the Red Wings, posting a respectable 2.81 GAA last season. The performance earned Lyon some security in a multi-year deal with Buffalo, but the Sabres were probably not expecting that the signing was bringing in their day-one 2025-26 starter. 

Now, in what could finally be a do-or-die year for the Sabres and their well-stocked young core, the 32-year-old faces what may be the biggest test of his career. It starts tomorrow when Buffalo hosts their in-state rivals. 

Sabres Sign Alex Lyon To Two-Year Deal

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The Sabres announced they’ve signed goaltender Alex Lyon to a two-year contract worth $1.5MM per season.

After backstopping the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup playoffs during the 2022-23 campaign, Lyon earned himself a two-year, $1.8MM agreement with the Detroit Red Wings the following offseason. Despite being ultimately usurped by Sergei Bobrovsky during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Lyon concluded the season with a record of 9-4-2 over 15 games, achieving a .912 SV% and a 2.89 GAA.

At first, his performance resembled that of the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, the Red Wings didn’t qualify for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, but it wasn’t Lyon’s fault. The netminder procured a 21-18-5 record in 44 games throughout his first year in Detroit with a .904 SV% and 3.05 GAA.

That quality performance was quickly forgotten this past season. Like many of his peers with the Red Wings, Lyon disappointed during the 2024-25 campaign, earning a 14-9-1 record in 30 games with a .896 SV%, 2.81 GAA, and -2.5 Goals Saved Above Average.

Given the one-way deal for Lyon, the Sabres will either have three netminders on next season’s roster, or the team is again expecting Devon Levi to begin the year with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Despite showing limited growth at the NHL level, it’s unclear what the Sabres expect from Levi to consider promoting him.

During his last two years with AHL Rochester, Levi achieved a record of 41-19-10, with a .922 SV% and a 2.28 GAA, including seven shutouts. Aside from proving his case for another year in the AHL, Levi will now have to compete with Lyon for the backup role in Buffalo for the next two years.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Bruins, Battle Of Florida

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To the dismay of Red Wings fans, the Original Six team set another franchise record this season by missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for a ninth consecutive season. Max Bultman of The Athletic summarized the Detroit Red Wings’ offseason plans, identifying players they are likely to part ways with this summer.

In his list of ’possible farewells’, Bultman theorizes that Detroit will let Jeff Petry, Craig Smith, Tyler Motte, and Alex Lyon walk in free agency. Totalling a combined cap hit of more than $5MM, all four of the quartet could be easily replaced internally this offseason, allowing the Red Wings to pursue a higher-impact player.

Lastly, Bultman articulated that defenseman William Lagesson was the only surefire departure this summer. Lagesson largely operated as a depth defenseman this season, tallying one assist in seven games while averaging 14:34 of ice time, when not playing for their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • In an insightful article regarding the Boston Bruins’ head coaching search, Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period exposed a meaningful fact: the hiring General Manager may not be around for more than a year. Don Sweeney’s contract concludes after the 2025-26 season, and although he’s received an endorsement from team President Cam Neely, plenty can change in a calendar year. For any heading coaching candidate considering joining the Bruins, job security will be something to weigh.
  • Over the last several years, the ’Battle of Florida’ between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers has been a must-see matchup since either team has represented the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final since the 2020 postseason. In the past two years, the Panthers have bested the Bolts, beating them in back-to-back opening-round matchups. In a quote from Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper conceded the battle, saying, “It was our turn. Now it’s theirs.”

Afternoon Notes: Malkin, Shea, Talbot, Cossa, Svechnikov

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will face the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday without lineup pillar Evgeni Malkin, who is set to sit out with a day-to-day upper-body injury per NHL.com’s Michelle Crechiolo. This will mark Malkin’s 12th absence since January 1st.

Malkin has continued to make a strong impact when he’s healthy. He has three points in his last five games, and 15 points in 23 games since the calendar turned over. Those marks have brought Malkin’s season-long scoring total up to 15 goals and 46 points in 62 games. That’s an 82-game scoring pace of just 61 points – the lowest of Malkin’s 19 year career in the NHL. Even still, he’s ranked fifth on the Penguins roster in scoring and fourth among forwards in average ice time (18 minutes). Malkin remains the focal point of Pittsburgh’s second-line, and leaves a noticeable hole in Tuesday night’s lineup. Kevin Hayes will see a boost in minutes in Malkin’s absence, while Joona Koppanen is expected to step into the lineup once again. Koppanen scored his first NHL goal on March 18th – his only point in four games.

While losing Malkin is always terrible news in Pittsburgh, the team will have a silver lining in the return of oft-used defenseman Ryan Shea, who missed the last seven-games with an upper-body injury – per Crechiolo. Shea has just five points in 30 games this season, though he’s heated up as of late – and played a season-high 24 minutes of ice time in his last game on March 9th. Shea has averaged 20 minutes of ice time in 10 games since January 1st. He likely won’t return to those heights immediately upon returning from injury – but could see his minutes slowly climb over Pittsburgh’s next few games.

Other notes around the league:

  • Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot will be healthy enough to serve as backup in Thursday night’s game, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. St. James adds that Talbot’s return will require Detroit to reassign top goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa, who was recalled with Detroit facing injuries to Talbot and Petr Mrazek. Mrazek remains out. Talbot will ease back into the lineup looking to build on his .898 save percentage through 38 games this season. Meanwhile, Cossa will return to the minor leagues looking to maintain his .913 save percentage through 35 AHL games. Cossa has held steady at a .913 Sv% in each of the last three seasons. The Red Wings’ starter’s crease will continue to be manned by Alex Lyon, who’s saved 39 of 44 shots against over his last two starts. Those marks have brought Lyon to a .899 Sv% in 27 games this season – second-highest on the Wings behind Mrazek’s .902 in five games played.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have received a boost of good news, with winger Andrei Svechnikov set to return to the lineup after he missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. The missed games brought Svechnikov up to eight absences this season – his fewest since the 2021-22 campaign. The 24-year-old winger has 18 goals and 43 points in 63 games this season. With such a chunk of missing games behind him, and just 11 games left on Carolina’s schedule, the ’Canes will likely ease Svechnikov back into the lineup. He’ll likely rotate through a top-six role with wingers like Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall, and Jack Roslovic.

Red Wings Recall Sebastian Cossa, Petr Mrazek And Cam Talbot Out

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The Detroit Red Wings have recalled top goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa under emergency conditions. Detroit is currently dealing with a mix of unavailability and injury in their goaltending room. Petr Mrazek sustained an undisclosed injury just two minutes into the team’s Monday win over Utah, after catching the stick of Dylan Guenther in a netfront collision. Backup Alex Lyon took over for Mrazek and led Detroit to a 5-1 victory. Lyon will have to man the starter’s net for a second night in a row on Tuesday, with Cam Talbot also out of the lineup for undisclosed reasons, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Talbot has only played four games in the month of March, and just one in the last week.

With Mrazek and Talbot on the shelf, Cossa will receive his first NHL call-up since December. He made his NHL debut in relief of Talbot on his last recall, and managed to lead Detroit to a shootout victory in 45 minutes of ice time. Cossa was returned to the minors in the days after, where he’s been up to his usual antics. He has a 19-11-5 record and .913 save percentage through 35 games on the year and is in firm control of the Grand Rapids Grffins’ starting role. This now marks the fourth consecutive season that Cossa has posted a .913 save percentage. Dating back to his 2021-22 season, Cossa has managed the exact same mark through 46 WHL games, 46 ECHL games, 40 AHL games last year, and now 35 games this year. The performances have been shockingly unwavering through the start of his pro career.

Detroit will be able to hold onto Cossa for 30 days or 10 games before his emergency recall expires. With a full house in the goaltending room, it’s hard to picture Detroit hanging onto their minor-league starter for too long – especially as the Griffins pursue a playoff chase of their own. Mrazek has managed a team-leading .902 save percentage in five games since joining Detroit at the Trade Deadline. Lyon is closely challenging that title, though – with a .944 on Monday bringing his year-long save percentage up to a .901. While Cossa seems like a surefire bet to post a .913 wherever he goes, Detroit might find more comfort in sticking with their vets through the end of the year. The Red Wings are currently three points behind an Eastern Conference Wild Card, down a game.

Atlantic Notes: Lyon, Motte, Cernak, Ekblad

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The Detroit Red Wings should get one player back this weekend while losing another for the foreseeable future. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported earlier that goaltender Alex Lyon will likely start tomorrow’s contest against the Dallas Stars. She later reported that forward Tyler Motte has been ruled out until next Thursday due to an upper-body injury.

Lyon, who’s had multiple injuries this season, hasn’t played since Detroit’s overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on January 7th due to an upper-body injury. He’s still managed a similarly solid season as last year with the Red Wings when healthy managing an 8-5-0 record in 14 starts with a .902 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average.

Similarly sidelined with an upper-body injury, Motte is now guaranteed to fall short of tying his 69 games played from a season ago. He’s been much of what Detroit should have expected of him this year, scoring two goals and two assists in 28 games, managing a -10 rating, and being a core part of one of the worst penalty kills in NHL history.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without one of their best defensive defensemen tonight. Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida reports that Erik Černák was made unavailable for tonight’s contest against the Red Wings but added the prognosis is better than expected so he shouldn’t be on the shelf for too long. Maxwell Crozier will replace Cernak tonight, joining Ryan McDonagh on the second defensive pairing. Crozier will play in his first game with Tampa Bay this season after tallying two assists in 13 contests last year.
  • A few hours southeast in Sunrise, FL, the Florida Panthers announced Aaron Ekblad would miss his fifth straight game this evening. However, it appears his return is on the horizon with head coach Paul Maurice saying, “I think we’re pretty confident he’ll be able to play on the road trip.“

Atlantic Injury Notes: Lyon, Motte, Tavares, Samuelsson

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The Red Wings are close to having netminder Alex Lyon back in the lineup, as head coach Todd McLellan told reporters Wednesday (including Daniella Bruce of the team’s official site) he’ll travel on their upcoming four-game road trip. They don’t have a specific date circled for his return, so he likely remains unavailable tonight against the Panthers, his former team. This is the third injury-related absence of the season for Lyon, who missed a combined 12 games with a lower-body injury before New Year’s and has now missed the last three games with an upper-body injury he sustained on Jan. 7 against the Senators. Lyon has a .902 SV% and 2.71 GAA in 16 appearances, translating to 1.4 goals saved above expected (per MoneyPuck). Struggling veteran Ville Husso will continue serving as Cam Talbot’s backup.

All-positions forward Tyler Motte is also dealing with an upper-body injury he sustained on Tuesday against the Sharks and won’t join the team to begin the road trip, McLellan said (via Carley Johnston of the team’s official site). The coach added that he hadn’t been ruled out for all four games and could fly out to meet the team later. After struggling with nine points in 69 games last year for the Lightning, Motte went pointless in his first four games of the year before missing significant time with a previous UBI. Upon returning, Motte was a frequent healthy scratch but has worked his way up into a more stable spot in the lineup, dressing in eight straight. His return to the lineup after a pair of scratches coincided with the beginning of the Wings’ seven-game winning streak that ended Tuesday, during which span he had a pair of assists and a minus-four rating.

More health news from around the Atlantic Division:

  • The Maple Leafs may be without center John Tavares for tonight’s game after the star sustained an apparent right leg injury during yesterday’s practice. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters, including David Alter of The Hockey News, that he didn’t see the play happen and that the former captain was still being evaluated. Tavares hasn’t been held out of action since a one-game absence due to illness in the third game of the campaign. The 34-year-old pivot has enjoyed a rebound from last year’s dip in production, clicking around a point per game once again with 42 in 44 contests.
  • Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson returned to the lineup in last night’s win over the Hurricanes after missing a pair of games due to illness. The still-developing shutdown man logged nearly 20 minutes. He posted a plus-one rating in the team’s narrow 4-2 victory, in which they managed to record a goal on no shots in the third period after Ryan McLeod was awarded an empty-netter on what otherwise would have been a penalty shot thanks to a Brent Burns slash. Samuelsson was again hamstrung by injuries in 2024-25, missing 12 games with a lower-body issue earlier in the year. When in the lineup, he has five points and a minus-seven rating while averaging 18:25 per game, his lowest usage since his rookie season.

Red Wings Recall Ville Husso, Place Jeff Petry On IR

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After Alex Lyon left last night’s game against Ottawa after one period due to an upper-body injury, it appears his availability for Friday’s contest versus Chicago is in some question.  The team announced (Twitter links) that goaltender Ville Husso has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids.  To make room on the roster, defenseman Jeff Petry has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 2nd.

Husso is up with Detroit for the fifth time already this season after he cleared waivers back at the start of the season.  The 29-year-old has played in eight games with the Red Wings so far in 2024-25, putting up a 3.47 GAA and a .877 SV%, numbers that don’t come close to justifying his $4.75MM price tag on a contract that expires at the end of the season.

However, he has fared quite better in his limited action with the Griffins.  In eight appearances with them, Husso has a 1.86 GAA with a .935 SV% in his first taste of longer-term AHL time since the 2018-19 season.  He is very close to reaching 30 days on the NHL roster and when that threshold is reached (or if he plays in two more games in Detroit), he’ll need to pass through waivers again before he can be returned to Grand Rapids.

As for Petry, he has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury.  The 37-year-old has had a quiet season offensively, notching just one goal and five assists in his first 37 outings although he’s still averaging over 19 minutes a night of playing time.  The retroactive placement means he’ll have missed seven days before Friday’s matchup, meaning that he’ll be eligible to be activated as early as that game if he’s cleared to return.

Atlantic Notes: Lyon, Talbot, Edvinsson, Barkov

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Prior to tonight’s game against Philadelphia, the Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Alex Lyon was activated off injured reserve.  He had missed nearly three weeks due to a lower-body injury.  The 32-year-old had played in nine games this season going into tonight’s action, posting a 2.74 GAA with a .911 SV%.  Lyon has been strong value on the two-year deal he signed last summer worth $900K per season; he’s well-positioned to command considerably more on the open market in July.

Meanwhile, team broadcaster Daniella Bruce adds (Twitter link) that the team is hopeful that starter Cam Talbot will be able to return by the weekend.  The 37-year-old has made just one start in the last two-plus weeks due to a lower-body injury but was off to a strong start before that and has a 2.69 GAA with a .916 SV% in 16 appearances so far.  Detroit has a home-and-home set against Montreal starting on Friday so it appears that they’re targeting Talbot to be available for one of those matchups.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Still with the Red Wings, the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Simon Edvinsson suffered an upper-body injury against Philadelphia and did not return. In his first full NHL season, the 21-year-old has certainly made an impact, collecting 13 points in 29 games while averaging 21:16 per game, good for second on the team behind only Moritz Seider.  Speaking with reporters after the game including MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link), head coach Derek Lalonde indicated that there was no immediate update on Edvinsson’s prognosis.
  • Panthers center Aleksander Barkov returned to action tonight against Minnesota, relayed team reporter Jameson Olive (Twitter link). He missed the last two games due to illness.  When healthy, the 29-year-old has been an impactful contributor with 29 points in his first 22 games; his 1.31 points per game average matches his previous best which was set back in the 2021-22 campaign.

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