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Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon upset at himself

The last two games haven't been Lyon's best.

HockeyFeed

HockeyFeed

In a situation that just about nobody saw coming, goaltender Alex Lyon has emerged as an unsung hero for the Detroit Red Wings this season, but is he being overworked? 

Lyon surrendered four goals on the 17 shots that he faced during last night's 4-1 loss against the Vancouver Canucks, including a first period goal from Elias Lindholm that was an uncharacteristic whiff. 

While Lyon believes that he "found a groove" later on, he admitted that he was frustrated with himself and the final results of the evening combined with the fact that he allowed seven pucks by him on Tuesday night in Edmonton after relieving the injured Ville Husso. 

"I didn't love my game tonight, I'll say flat out. That being said, I gave up seven last game so for me, it's just re-engaging and you give up the two in the 1st period real quick and it turns into a mental grind," he said. 

"I want to help the team put a W on the board, put up zero goals, but it's just the reality of the situation. You have to grind through that and make sure it doesn't snowball down the hill."

And something else that has to be taken into account is the fact that Lyon isn't used to this workload. After last night, he's now played in 17 of the last 18 games. Could fatigue be part of the reason why he wasn't at his best against the Canucks? 

"I think so," said head coach Derek Lalonde of Lyon.

With Husso on the shelf for the time being after having suffered another lower body injury, Lalonde and the rest of his staff have some decisions to make on how they utilize both Lyon and backup James Reimer. 

"Unfortunately, he (Lyon) got put in a pretty bad situation in Edmonton and it's something we'll evaluate," Lalonde said. "It's probably time to look at maybe giving him a rest and looking at the big picture a little bit. That's something we'll evaluate as a staff in the morning."

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