From Journeyman To Buffalo’s Backbone

The performance has only strengthened what teammates and coaches already believed about him: Lyon thrives in chaos.

There’s a frantic, almost reckless competitiveness to the way he plays. He battles through broken sequences, scrambles across the crease when plays appear dead, and refuses to quit on shots most goaltenders would concede. Earlier in the playoffs, he even threw himself into a near-somersault recovery to get a piece of a dangerous chance from Morgan Geekie.

That refusal to surrender has become contagious inside Buffalo’s locker room.

“I really love guys like that — hates to lose and wants their opponents to look bad,” captain Rasmus Dahlin told AP. “I really feed off that. He loves big moments. That’s when he thrives.”

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff described Lyon’s energy as “infectious,” praising the emotional spark he brings to the bench every night.

“Every goalie has their own personality, and his personality has a lot of fire in it,” Ruff told AP. “He’s a character and it’s something the group likes.”

Lyon’s path to this moment makes the rise even more compelling.

Undrafted out of Yale University, the Minnesota native spent years grinding through the uncertainty of professional hockey, bouncing between organizations and leagues while trying to prove he belonged. Before finally carving out a consistent NHL role, he endured long stretches in the minors and stops with Philadelphia, Carolina, Florida, and Detroit.

Nothing came quickly. Nothing came easily.

Why The Sabres Feed Off Lyon’s Fire

And somewhere through the instability, Lyon said he learned how to stop letting bad stretches consume him.

“It probably dawned on me five or six years ago, that if you just continue to keep pushing through the bad times, it will always turn around for the better,” Lyon told AP.

That mindset left a lasting impression on Ryan Warsofsky, who coached Lyon with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves during their Calder Cup championship season in 2022.

“Did not want to give up the net,” Warsofsky told AP. “Every day he was the same guy. It just shows you that everyone develops a little bit differently on different timelines.”

Now, after nearly a decade of fighting for opportunities, Lyon suddenly finds himself at the center of Buffalo’s playoff resurgence — not because of pedigree or hype, but because he refused to disappear when hockey kept testing him.And judging by the grin he flashed after stoning Arvidsson, he’s enjoying every second of proving people wrong.

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