Alex Lyon matched a franchise record for the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night, earning his ninth consecutive win as the team defeated the New York Islanders 5-0 at UBS Arena. Lyon made 27 saves to secure his second shutout of the season and tie Gerry Desjardins’ record for most consecutive wins by a Sabres goaltender, set in December 1976.
“He’s just given us a lot of real good hockey, battled hard in games,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “Tonight was fabulous.”
An early goal by Islanders forward Casey Cizikas was disallowed due to goalie interference. Throughout the game, Lyon turned away multiple scoring chances from New York, including key stops against Tony DeAngelo, Matthew Schaefer, and Bo Horvat.
“He’s been fantastic for us all year. He’s just been huge,” Jason Zucker said. “Today that game could’ve turned a lot of different times, and he made some big saves for us.”
Zucker opened the scoring early in the second period after Lyon kept the game tied with a save late in the first. Tage Thompson added his 27th goal of the season before intermission, assisted by Zach Benson. Zucker scored again at the start of the third period, followed by goals from Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch.
“Again tonight, we maybe had a little bit of a lackluster second period and then turned it around, and that’s what I think we’re getting good at: when we emotionally get a bit disengaged, we can find a way to get re-engaged,” Lyon said. “As a goalie, that’s all you can ask for, that consistency.”
Lyon has posted a .927 save percentage during this nine-game winning streak despite missing time earlier in the season due to injury.
“He comes to the rink every day and works his bag off. He’s a good pro, taking care of himself, doing what he needs to do,” Mattias Samuelsson said about Lyon. “When you see what he puts in every day, it’s not very surprising that he plays this well in and out.”
“I think the team’s playing well in front of him too… but whenever we need a big save out of him – and there’s definitely a couple tonight there in the second – he steps up and makes them.”
The Sabres have gone 18-3-1 since Dec. 9 when Lyon began his current streak with a win over Edmonton. The team is now even with Montreal for third place in their division.
“Process is feeling good right now, but I’m just trying to take it a day at a time because you just have to continue to hammer on the details and hope things work out,” Lyon said. “And right now things are just working out.”
Defenseman Michael Kesselring recorded his first point as a Sabre with an assist on Tuch’s goal late in regulation while finishing plus-two with two blocked shots over more than 14 minutes on ice.
“He’s coming now,” Ruff said about Kesselring’s progress after returning from injury earlier this season. “I thought his skating [was] by far [his] best tonight… I thought it was a big step in the right direction.”
Before line changes midway through play, younger players Zach Benson, Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius led shot attempts during their shifts together at even strength; Helenius drew another penalty and hit iron again while Benson got into physical exchanges with Scott Mayfield.
“That’s just the way he plays,” Samuelsson said regarding Benson’s style. “I don’t think it matters [what] score – he’s not turning that off.”
The Sabres next face Toronto on Tuesday night.
