While the Detroit Red Wings left Sweden with a bitter taste in their mouths after having earned only one of a possible four points, one positive was the play of goaltender Alex Lyon on Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He showed no signs of rust despite not having played a regular season game since last April with the Florida Panthers, and he's been rewarded with another start tomorrow night at Little Caesars Arena as the Red Wings face the New Jersey Devils.
The Red Wings named Lyon their starter for Friday's game after James Reimer had started the previous day against Ottawa; starter Ville Husso was unavailable as he and his wife welcomed a new baby girl.
“I liked what Alex gave us,” head coach Derek Lalonde explained of his performance on Friday. “Not fair to put Ville (Husso) in considering (Tuesday) was his first practice in about a week.”
“A goalie looks confident when he’s stopping the puck, when he’s handling the puck,” Lalonde said. “I think he brought confidence into our group, hence the 2-0 lead after 40 minutes against a very good offensive team.”
Lyon stopped 26 of 29 shots against the Leafs, and looked every bit like the goaltender that the Panthers tapped to start for them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring.
“Being a third goalie my whole career, it’s kind of like that,” Lyon said. “You can try to be as ready as you want in the American League, but it’s a different beast when you get up here. You have to kind of prepare for that and stay mentally sharp that way. The Covid season (2020) I was largely on the taxi squad. I think that was a good, valuable experience for me in terms of being able to stay ready on a regular basis without ever having an end goal in sight.”
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