It isn’t every day that a 30-year old goaltender breaks through in the NHL. Sure, Alex Lyon made appearances in previous seasons, but never with any regularity. Then at the start of this season, he signed with the Florida Panthers as their third-string netminder. He played a few games for them in January, but vaulted to the top of the depth chart in March. With Spencer Knight in the NHLPA assistance program, and Sergei Bobrovsky out with illness, a Lyon takeover was forced. Thankfully for the Panthers, it wound up saving their season and he continues surprising fans with strong play in the postseason.
Alex Lyon Takeover Continues Turning Heads Around the League
Until 2022-23, Lyon’s career stat line featured just 18 starts and 24 appearances between 2017 and 2022. He went 7-7-3 in those contests, with under a 50% “quality start” metric too. In six games in January, Lyon went 3-2-1 and then got re-assigned to the AHL. Even then, he looked like a career minor league netminder, as he did previously across his career.
In March, though, Bobrovsky went down with an illness. With Knight already absent from the team, Lyon sat as the de-facto starter. With just a handful of games left on the calendar, and sitting on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, things looked bleak.
As Lyon played, that bleak outlook grew brighter and brighter by the game. With a strong takeover in goal, Lyon provided stability and confidence, a surprising outcome considering his limited NHL experience. He isn’t a young prospect either, so the surge was completely unexpected.
Lyon’s Performance Down the Stretch
In eight consecutive starts to end the season, Lyon went 6-1-1. This helped Florida accumulate 13 out of 16 possible points in the standings. They needed nearly all of them, too; one more regulation loss would’ve landed them outside of the playoffs.
Lyon’s statistics in 2022-23 rank better than any other point in his limited NHL career, unsurprisingly. Even with the less impressive 3-2-1 run earlier in the year, he finished the regular season 9-4-2 with a .912 save percentage and 2.89 goals against average. His .714 quality start percentage bested both Bobrovsky (.612) and Knight (.421) as the most consistent contributor in goal.
In this playoff push, Lyon’s takeover in goal featured his first NHL shutout too. His most important performance, however, came in a victory over the Ottawa Senators. While the final score ended at 7-2, Lyon stood as the best player on the ice that night. The Sens outshot the Panthers by a wide 58-30 margin. Without multiple stellar saves, especially early in the contest, the outcome could’ve been extremely different. A loss that night, and the Panthers wouldn’t be playing against the Boston Bruins in the playoffs right now.
What this Means for the Future
At the moment, the takeover in net continues for Lyon. He will start game three of Florida’s first round matchup against the Bruins, coming off the first playoff victory of his career. Despite a loss in game one, Lyon stood on his head with tremendous saves in all three periods. Yes, he allowed one soft goal, but goalies everywhere noted that the goal was more of an equipment problem with his glove than a blemish on his performance.
Regardless, he wanted that one back. A bounce back win in game two sure cemented him as their go-to guy, even with Bobrovsky healthy and available. In the coming years, Bob remains their $10 million dollar man; however, keeping Lyon around sure looks appealing. A cheap backup option to support Bobrovsky and Knight doesn’t hurt to have.
That said, if this run goes deeper, Lyon may earn himself a real opportunity elsewhere. If they beat the Bruins, the best team in NHL history, who knows what the future holds for the netminder. At 30 years of age, his ceiling seems limited. But hey, goalies are notoriously difficult to project. Goalies are voodoo, and Lyon is the poster child of that reality right now.
Main Photo: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
