Lyon’s standout performance nets just 1 point for Sabres

An excellent performance from Alex Lyon carried the team for 60 minutes, but the Buffalo Sabres lost 2-1 in overtime to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday at KeyBank Center.

The Sabres are 5-1-4 in their last 10, including a seven-game point streak, but they’ve lost all four games settled in 3-on-3 overtime. In this one, Alex Tuch had an early scoring chance denied by Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka; 20 seconds later, Clayton Keller found a hole in Buffalo’s defensive-zone coverage and skated in for the winning goal.

“After the shot on goal, instead of Tuch backing out, I’d like to see him stay in,” coach Lindy Ruff said, diagnosing the Sabres’ extra-period struggles. “We were still above the puck. … We backed out and said, ‘Here, you guys come at us.’

“… We had our chance, and then our coverage wasn’t good enough. We lost coverage again on the high cycle, and we let Keller walk in. He shouldn’t get that easy a look.”

Buffalo had its share of chances in regulation, too. The first period included an alone-in-front chance for Jack Quinn, a backdoor feed to an uncovered Michael Kesselring and a Tage Thompson rip from high in the zone. Vejmelka stopped all three as part of a nine-save period, with the Thompson shot glancing off his shoulder and hitting the far post. Later, a breakaway and 3-on-1 rush both came up empty for the Sabres, too.

The Mammoth controlled play in the second and third periods, outshooting the Sabres 27-8, but they only beat Lyon once in that span – Nick Schmaltz opened the scoring early in the third.

Lyon made 33 total saves, including 12 high-danger ones, per Natural Stat Trick. Utah beat him just twice despite generating 3.95 expected goals.

“Played great,” Ruff said of his veteran goalie, who’s played 10 of the team’s 13 games to start this season. “… With the number of [injuries] and the pieces we had to move around, we needed our goalie to play well. He played really well for us.”

The Sabres walked away with a point thanks to Noah Ostlund’s first NHL goal, a game-tying tally with 12:10 remaining. Ostlund, recalled from Rochester on Tuesday morning, missed the net after a nice passing play with linemate Isak Rosen, but Rosen tipped the puck off the top of the net – not a high stick; it must be below the shoulders, not the crossbar, on passes – for Ostlund to score in front.

“It was a cool moment,” Ostlund said after his 13th career game. “I was a little bit scared from the high stick there by Rosie, but I’m happy for it.”

This comes one game after Rosen scored his first goal. With six key forwards – Josh Norris, Jason Zucker, Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich, Tyson Kozak and Justin Danforth – sidelined by injury or health issues, the Sabres are greatly benefitting from their former first-round picks’ offensive contributions.

“We need their skill, we need their scoring ability that they’ve shown in the minors,” Ruff said. “This is the next step for them. This is the opportunity they’re waiting for. All of a sudden, they get 14, 15 minutes, and I think they’ve taken advantage of it. Both guys have played extremely well for us.”

For the Sabres, this marks the first stretch of five straight overtime games since March 2022. Each point does matter, especially with the Eastern Conference standings so congested a month into the season, but Buffalo knows it needs to start capitalizing on its mostly strong play and stringing together two-point nights.

“If we find a way to keep getting points, find a way to continue to stick around, that’s a good thing,” Lyon said. “I also think the next step is available for us where maybe we start to take over. But credit to the guys – continued to battle all night with a tough lineup situation.”

Up next

The Sabres wrap up their three-game homestand Thursday versus St. Louis. It’s the first of seven “Throwback Thursday” games this season, which means black and red uniforms for Buffalo.

Tickets are available here.

MSG’s pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. before puck drop at 7.