Sabres Starting Alex Lyon Has Swung Playoff Series – The Hockey Writers – Buffalo Sabres

To say that the mood among Buffalo Sabres fans after Game 2 was “nervous” would be putting it lightly. The offense couldn’t seem to solve Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman at all in the first two periods, and the power play was non-existent.

After a hard-fought Game 3 win, the Sabres then came out and blew the doors off the Bruins 6-1. As the Sabres prepare to close out the series on home ice, there are a number of key contributors to cite. But the swing began with one simple change.

The Move to Lyon Has Paid Dividends

After a pair of decent but unspectacular starts, the Sabres made the change from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to Alex Lyon in net. The change paid dividends immediately. As the Sabres struggled yet again on the power play, Lyon made several big saves, particularly after the team had fallen behind 1-0 early in the second period of Game 3.

Lyon shut the door down the stretch of that game, allowing the Sabres to take a critical game. In Game 4, the Sabres jumped all over the Bruins in the first period, and Lyon didn’t have much to do. But his play in the second period kept the resurgent Bruins off the board, effectively ending the game.

In two starts, Lyon has turned aside 47 of 49 Bruins shots. More importantly, he has injected a sense of confidence and reliability that just hadn’t been there with Luukkonen. Lyon plays with a fire that is visible, and his frenetic style provides energy when he turns aside dangerous chances. It has been a huge momentum shift, and the team came out in Game 4 with a totally different sense about it.

Sabres Also Getting Key Contributions from Throughout the Lineup

Lyon is certainly one of the standouts in the series, but the Sabres are up because they are getting contributions from virtually the entire lineup. Noah Ostlund’s addition seems have woken Zach Benson and Josh Doan up, unlocking their cumulative ability to be disruptive pests.

Peyton Krebs continues to grow in his role as the team’s top-line center. Owen Power is off to a tremendous start at both ends of the ice, and Alex Tuch has been impactful in every game of the series so far.

Lyon Swung the Goaltending Advantage

Coming into the series, the Bruins had a pronounced advantage in terms of goaltending. At his best, Swayman is one of the best in the game, and it certainly looked like he was the edge for the Bruins through the first two games aside from a late collapse in Game 1.

Since Lyon has come in, however, the goaltending advantage has completely swung. Lyon was clearly better in Game 3. In Game 4, he didn’t need to be perfect but nearly was, stopping a few dangerous chances at a time when the Bruins could have easily started building momentum.

That confidence in their goaltending has unleashed the Sabres. They were aggressive on the forecheck in Game 4, and it completely smothered the Bruins. Coming into a hostile environment on Tuesday night, the Bruins will have to try to figure out how to defeat that forecheck while solving Lyon.

Can the Sabres Close it Out?

The Sabres are in a position no one could have dreamt of back in December. After a dream season, they looked to have the yips in the first two games of the series yet walked into Boston with a tied series. They proceeded to take both games by a cumulative score of 9-2.

Closing out a series, particularly as a young team, is difficult to do. They will be ramped up on Tuesday, but need to lock in, play their game, and keep the Bruins on their heels. If they do that, they will secure their first playoff series win since defeating the New York Rangers in the 2007 Eastern Conference semifinals. It is a feat even more significant than getting to the dance this spring.