Lyon is ready to split time again with Luukkonen

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - Before leaving for Detroit for Thursday's preseason game against the Red Wings, the Sabres held their morning skate in Buffalo.

Lindy Ruff said Alex Lyon might play the whole game depending how the game goes with Colten Ellis backing up.

Ruff has indicated that alternating Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen worked so well last season that he'll likely do it again. Lyon played 36 games going 20-10-4 while Luukkonen played 35 going 22-9-3. Ellis got into 16 games with a 8-4-2 record. The trio was third in the National Hockey League in team save percentage.

Every goaltender wants the net as much as he can get it, but there's no denying how the alternating and the three goaltender system worked to help the Sabres break their 14-year playoff drought and win the Atlantic Division. Lyon said,

"It was good, there's good things to the three goalies and there's pitfalls as well as the two goalie system, so last year it worked really well for us and I think it's one of the first times it's worked really well for a team so I think we're all ready to embrace it if it's the case and we have a very good relationship and we work well together, so that's important, but it definitely adds a layer of competitivity because you have to be on top of yourself and if two guys are playing well there's a common denominator where one guy may get left out."

Lyon has had a lot of experiences and had a similar path as Ellis, so he didn't mind sharing with the youngster,

"I enjoy doing that, but I learned as much from him as he learned from me and I believe you can take pieces from everybody. It's interesting because in years, these two are the same age, (Luukkonen is 27 while Ellis will be 26 in October) but their paths have been vastly different, my path is a bit more like Colten's, so we share common ground, but we both learn a lot from 'Uppie' and 'UPL' and I have both learned a lot from Colten as well.

"He's had amazing success at the American League level and for him to do what he did last year, probably got swept under the rug a little bit he won some big games for us and it got us to where we wanted to go, but were all competing and we're all trying to take each other's jobs as well and that's reality."

We all know about the the Connor Hellebuyck rumors before the NHL Draft and even now. Lyon has been in professional hockey long enough to understand where that all comes from,

"It used to affect me, but I've been on the trade block for 10 years, so it's just it is what it is, it comes with the territory and I completely understand it and you can't get away from it and the better you deal with those situations, the better you're going to be at your job."

Lyon said he spent some time in the summer reflecting on his success last season, but he said great professionals turn the page.

At 33-years-old, Lyon know what has to be done in the summer to get ready for a season. He said,

"Every year it gets to be just a little bit more. You have to be a little bit more detailed to get your body to the point where you want it to be, that's just father time, so it's always something I'm thinking about training to create more sustainability, but I have a pretty good handle on what I want and what I need at this point, so you try to stay the same, but you can't be afraid of evolution as well."

Ruff has an interesting line together for Thursday's game. It's three young centers together as Noah Ostlund will center Jiri Kulich and Konsta Helenius. Ruff said he would not hesitate at all to use the three of them together during the regular season.

Join Zach Jones and Derek Kramer for the pregame at 6:05 when you'll hear from Ruff, Lyon and Helenius.

THURSDAY'S LINEUP:

Kulich - Ostlund - Helenius

Kuntar - Peca - Richard

Valente - Bordeleau - Polin

McDonough - Kozak - Danforth

Gilbert - McCarthy

Johnson - Mrtka

Metsa - Komarov

Lyon - Ellis