Sabres’ Alex Lyon to miss at least a week with lower-body injury
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon will miss at least the next week with a lower-body injury, the club announced Thursday afternoon.
Lyon, 33, has a 20-10-4 record, three shutouts, and a .907 save percentage in 36 games with the Sabres this season. According to Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff, the 6’1″ goaltender strained a lower-body injury during the Sabres’ morning skate prior to their game against the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
In his media availability on Thursday, Ruff said “there’s a chance” Lyon may not be ready for the Sabres’ first playoff game next weekend. The Sabres have run with a trio of goaltenders for most of the 2025-26 season: Lyon, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Colten Ellis.
Per coach Lindy Ruff, goaltender Alex Lyon will be out at least a week with a lower-body injury. More → bufsabres.co/4vihA5a
The Sabres signed Lyon to a two-year, $1.5 million-AAV contract as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2025. The Baudette, Minn. product will be eligible to become a UFA once again after the 2026-27 season.
An undrafted player, Lyon has appeared in 149 NHL games in his career over parts of nine seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Detroit Red Wings, and Sabres. However, he did not establish himself as an everyday NHL goaltender until late in the 2022-23 season, in which he played an instrumental role in helping the Panthers avoid missing the playoffs.
Lyon subsequently signed with the Red Wings as a free agent in 2023 and spent two seasons with the club as a tandem goaltender, appearing in 77 games with the team. Now, he and Luukkonen are the go-to options on a Sabres team vying for one of the top playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
An undrafted player, Lyon spent his college years at Yale before turning pro in the Flyers organization in 2016. Since making his NHL debut in 2017-18, Lyon has gone 71-48-15 with a .903 save percentage in his career; he made four playoff appearances with the Panthers in 2022-23, going 1-2 with an .888 save percentage.