- Lyon called himself an “amorphous blob” when asked about being the Sabres’ oldest player
- The 33-year-old is 4-1 with a .950 save percentage and 1.30 GAA in the playoffs
- Read below for the full quote, Game 1 stats, and the Yale connection
Buffalo Sabres goalie Alex Lyon doesn’t talk like most hockey players.
The 33-year-old met the media Thursday morning and pulled out a phrase you don’t usually hear in an NHL locker room. Sportsnet caught it:
Lyon was talking about being the oldest guy on the roster. He’s bounced through Philadelphia, Florida, Detroit, and now Buffalo over the past few seasons, so blending into a new dressing room is basically muscle memory at this point.
It might also be his Yale education talking. Lyon went the Ivy League route before turning pro, which would explain why “amorphous blob” rolls off his tongue easier than most postgame answers.
Game 1 was vintage Lyon. He turned away 26 of 28 shots in Buffalo’s 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens, his fifth consecutive postseason start. The NHL’s social team couldn’t help itself:
Through five playoff starts, the journeyman is 4-1 with a .950 save percentage and a 1.30 goals-against average. Those are video-game numbers, and they’re a big reason the Sabres are in the second round for the first time since 2007.
You can see how he’s been doing it in the Game 1 highlights:
For a guy who describes himself as shapeless, Lyon has been awfully tough to score on. He’s not the biggest goalie on the Buffalo roster, but he tends to get wherever he needs to be a half-second before the puck.
The Sabres will need plenty more of that against Montreal. The Canadiens were the higher seed in this series, and they’re not going to roll over after one loss.
The Lyon King is reigning, and he’s doing it while sounding like he just stepped out of a Yale lecture hall.
