Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres returned to practice on Monday with nothing but the New York Rangers on their mind.
The team has three days to prepare, and the group has already had to pivot as Alex Lyon will be the starting goalie, at least, until Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returns from injury.
Lyon played 157 minutes in preseason and had excellent numbers, including a .909 save percentage. He knows that getting to start the season in net is an opportunity for him to keep the net.
"That’s always the hope, and that’s what you strive for," said Lyon following Monday's practice. "For sure it’s a good opportunity, and you’re always looking for it. I’m going to try to make the most of it, and it’s about forming those relationships on the ice with the team, starting to get that process moving in the right direction so we have good habits and communication, which is so important on night one."
While Lyon says it’s business as usual for him, he can't help to show some excitement for the opportunity.
"The routine and the mentality stays the same, but you want to play well for the team and stay in the moment right now," Lyon said.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff is also looking at this as an opportunity for Lyon.
"It’s probably his really big opportunity," said Ruff on Monday after practice. "We’ve given him a pretty good look in the preseason, and there’s a lot to like about his game. There’s also probably a couple of goals he’d want back."
We all know the Sabres are in the longest playoff drought in National Hockey League history at 14 years. Lyon has been around in Buffalo for none of it, but he absolutely isn’t going to hide from it.
"There’s two sides to the coin where and I’m in a bit of a unique situation because Detroit wasn’t in as long of a drought (nine years), but a similar place in their path. So I got to see what it was for them," Lyon acknowledged. "It’s been interesting for me to be here and see those two side-by-side, but I’ve also prepared this summer with that in mind. With the weight of that in mind, just because I think when you get into a tough stretch and you’re not mentally prepared for that, it hits way harder. So as a goalie, you feel and carry a lot of those things, and you should carry those things to a healthy extent.
"But you have to understand what you’re facing, and you can’t turn a blind eye to that. You have to acknowledge that when it’s good and when it’s bad, and just be brutally honest about it."
This team knows it can’t go on long losing streaks if it expects to make the playoffs.
"The speed and intensity is going to increase on Thursday, and we’re going to be tested," said Lyon.
As far as nerves go Thursday, Lyon knows they’ll be there.
"I’ve been nervous every single time I’ve stepped on the ice. I was ‘Throwing up kid’ until I was like 15-years-old, so I carry a lot of anxiety during the season and nerves," Lyon admitted. "But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned how to channel them, and you can almost use it to your advantage."
The Sabres will not have Luukkonen, Michael Kesselring or Jordan Greenway available on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Ruff says Owen Power skated on his own and is on schedule.
In addition, Zach Benson and Mattias Samuelsson both practiced Monday, and Ruff expects them to play Thursday night.
Over the weekend, Ruff took the team out-of-town for a retreat, and he liked how it went for them.
"I thought we had a great day together," he said. "We had a couple sessions that we used for, what we called, 'culture building', and we had a gentleman that ran it and orchestrated it for us. I thought that was real good. The feedback from the players was good, and we put in three or four hours of what we thought was going to be good for our club."
MONDAY'S LINES:
Forwards:
Benson - Norris - Thompson
Zucker - Kulich - Tuch
Quinn - McLeod - Doan
Malenstyn - Krebs - Danforth
Defense:
Dahlin - Timmins
Byram - Samuelsson
Johnson - Kozak
Geertsen - Bryson
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