Backup keeper in like a Lyon, helps Hurricanes earn a point in an OT loss to Florida
.JPG "Florida Panthers’ Joe Thornton (19) works the puck in front of Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Alex Lyon (34) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)")
If Alex Lyon saves up all of his paychecks from this hockey season — even if the Canes are really nice and pay him as if he played all 82 games in the NHL this season — and cashes them all at once, that total deposit would just equal what Sergei Bobrovsky earned by the end of October.
No exaggeration necessary.
Bobrovsky earns $10 million per year and is on pace to play about 50 games this season between the pipes for the Florida Panthers, an average of $200,000 per game. Lyon’s base salary in the NHL is $750,000, and his minor league base is $200,000.
Bobrovsky went into Saturday’s game with more saves this season in the NHL (625), than Lyon has in his career (478). The Canes backup made his second NHL start for the Hurricanes on Saturday and 24th in the NHL overall.
But the NHL and its players care nothing for contract status, nor how many zeros follow the number on the front end of that contract. They DO care about wins and losses, though, which is why on the surface it was curious that the Canes chose to activate Lyon off the taxi squad Saturday afternoon and immediately insert him into the lineup against Bobrovsky and the Panthers, who are among the top four teams in the league standings.
A pregame interview with Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour shed a little light on that situation, saying the team was dealing with a pair of “banged-up goalies.” Frederik Andersen played — and played well — in Friday’s 6-3 win over the Flames, but he was quite busy. Antti Raanta backed him up, but curiously never sat with the team on the bench. The team said he was available to play if needed, but he remained in the locker room. On Saturday, the Canes ruled Raanta out with an upper-body injury.
So, in the second game of a back-to-back, that left Lyon.
Not that he’s been a slouch this season: Lyon is 9-1-1 with a minuscule 1.79 GAA and .929 save percentage with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. In his one other appearance with Carolina this season, Lyon stopped 27 of 29 shots in a 3-2 win over St. Louis on Nov. 13.
Still, Saturday was different.
The Panthers were division opponents in last year’s COVID-influenced realignment. Both teams are good — 1-2 in the latest NHL standings based on the percentage of points gained — and that naturally breeds resentment.
“I felt like the first 30 minutes of that game, I was scrambling a bit,” Lyon admitted, “and then found a little bit of a rhythm there.”
And oh, yeah, the Canes rallied to tie the score with 18:15 to play, putting the pressure squarely back on Lyon’s back.
“We threw him into the mix and he was good,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the game. “Yeah, he’d probably like to have that first one back but he dug in and made some real big saves and allowed us to get back in the game and have a chance to maybe squeak it out.”
The 29-year-old keeper — among the older players on Saturday’s roster despite his lack of NHL experience — played well above his pay grade.
.JPG "PanthersHurricanesHockey (13).JPG")
He robbed Anthony Duclair at the right post on a crossing feed during a Panthers’ power play, and when the puck cycled back to the top of the umbrella, he swallowed the point shot with a pair of forwards crowding the crease. After a pair of shorthanded Carolina rushes, he slammed the door as Florida made a rush against some tired penalty killers. Once he thought the puck got through his pads, and he whirled around glove-hand first to snare the shot, but it was tucked safely between his pads.
And that was in the six minutes following the equalizer.
Florida pest Frank Vatrano even tried mind games with Lyon later in the third. Following an abbreviated Florida power play, Vatrano was whistled for interference. Instead of making his way to the penalty box, he skated into Lyon’s crease while the keeper fueled up on water. Lyon ignored him, officials came and snagged Vatrano and off he went, shaking his head while watching the big screen with a smirk.
Lyon did what he needed to do, even if he’s his own worst critic.
“I didn’t feel that I played that well,” Lyon said. “But at the same time, I felt like I was effective at stopping the puck, which, sometimes, that’s just how it goes. You’re not always going to be perfect technically, and sometimes it’s just about getting the job done.”
Overtime in the NHL is a crapshoot. Teams skating 3-on-3 can turn the best of goalies backwards. Lyon stuffed one Florida OT chance, but he had no chance on Duclair’s winner.
No matter.
Lyon may not be able to match Bobrovsky on the ledger, and he may have suffered a tough-luck OT loss, but he proved Saturday he can go toe to toe with the Russian — or any NHL goalie — on the ice. In two games this season, the journeyman has more than acquitted himself with the Canes, proving he can help the team when it needs him.
That, he can take to the bank.
This story was originally published January 9, 2022 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Backup keeper in like a Lyon, helps Hurricanes earn a point in an OT loss to Florida."
