Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Until Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returns to the net from injury for the Buffalo Sabres, Alex Lyon and Alexander Georgiev will be in a competition to play in goal.
Lyon will get the start Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and play two periods. Georgiev played 40 minutes on Monday, and was perfect on the 16 shots he faced while sharing the shutout with Devon Levi.
Lyon signed as a free agent this summer after spending two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. Having come to new NHL teams more than once has helped him here in Buffalo.
"Honestly, it gets a little easier every time," said Lyon following Tuesday's morning skate. "But the name of the game is just focusing on yourself, and doing the things you can do to help the team, and fit in with the team on the ice, off the ice. So I’ve been really enjoying it, trying to enjoy the city, and just get good habits and a good routine."
When Lyon signed his contract this summer, he thought his competition would be Luukkonen and, to a lesser extent, Levi. With the late signing of Georgiev, now he’s in the equation, but Lyon welcomes competition.
"It drives me, and the older I get, the more I find when there’s something on the line, that’s when the best comes out in me," the 32-year-old said. "Whether it’s late in the season or playoffs, or just having something to strive for, I love it.
"I want to support these guys as much as possible, but I also want to take as many starts as I can."
Lyon had never met any of Buffalo’s goalies until he got here. When he spoke with the media in July, he said earlier in his career, he wasn’t helpful to other goalies on the team because he wanted to play. Now he’s had a change of heart.
"We’ve had really good conversations, but you just don’t really know until maybe December or January," Lyon said. "But it’s those really adverse situations when you find out who people are. Right now, everything is nice, it feels good. But we’re going to get smacked in the face at some point, and that’s when your mettle really gets tested."
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff says on a daily basis that this team needs to be better defensively.
"Unfortunately, there are 31 other teams that also want to be better defensively and offensively, and I think when you move around a lot, what you realize is everything’s relative," Lyon noted. "You want to find a way to be a little bit better than the other 31 teams across the league, so that’s what it’s really about to me. Try to find how to gain an advantage, but also tightening things up yourself."
Georgiev enjoyed being around Ruff when he was an assistant coach with the New York Rangers from 2017-20. He was glad to have the opportunity to speak with Ruff before signing with the team.
The 29-year-old goaltender was still available until Sept. 11, and admits it wasn’t easy for him.
"It was a long, long offseason, for sure, but I was waiting for an opportunity to open up and find the best spot," said Georgiev following Monday's morning skate.
Georgiev had four pretty good seasons with the Rangers, and then one decent season with the Colorado Avalanche. He’s fallen off a cliff since then, especially while with the San Jose Sharks last season.
"In my first two seasons [in Colorado], lots of games played, lots of wins. So there was definitely some very, very good there. But last season, the start was very, very rough, the first couple games went really badly, then I got traded and it was a tough year statistically," Georgiev recalled.
The Russian-born netminder says the Sharks had some very good goalie coaches, and feels his game is better off because of them.
Ruff had mentioned he thinks Georgiev is motivated to prove he is still a good goalie.
"I want to get back to where I’m one of the better goalies in the league," Georgiev said. "I’ve played a lot of games, I got to the All-Star Game, so this is my level and I want to get back to that and be a big part of getting back to the playoffs here."
Alex Tuch isn't going to play Tuesday against the Blue Jackets, but he was able to fully practice with his teammates once again on Tuesday.
In the lineup for a second-straight night Tuesday will be Levi, as well as forwards Konsta Helenius, Tyson Kozak and Mason Geertsen.
Tune in to "Schopp and the Bulldog" for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. when you'll hear from Ruff, Lyon and Tuch.
TUESDAY’S LINES:
Forwards:
Kopff - Kozak - Geertsen
Benson - Norris - Thompson
Zucker - McLeod - Helenius
Neuchev - Leschyshyn - Rosen
Defense:
Bryson - Timmins
Samuelsson - Dahlin
Jones - Johnson
Goalies:
Lyon
Levi