Lyon ready for another chance with Elliott out

PHILADELPHIA » It’s not that Alex Lyon doesn’t relish the chance, it’s just that the taste of NHL life isn’t new to him anymore.

With the way the Flyers have to count on a sometimes brittle veteran starter in Brian Elliott and an almost broken backup in Michal Neuvirth as their goaltending tandem, even a foreverkid from Yale is going to get a few good chances to carve his niche in the crease.

But at 25, Lyon, just the second Yale goalie ever to play in the bigs, is no longer the happygo-lucky bright light just happy to be here. He wants people to understand that his NHL education isn’t secondary to his Ivy upbringing.

“This is my dream,” Lyon said. “I love hockey. I went to an Ivy League school because I knew it would help me later on, but I love playing hockey. So I don’t get caught in-between that at all. I’m fully, fully committed to becoming the best player I can be.”

Lyon will try to be just that over the course of the next couple of weeks, when he’s expected to back up veteran bubble goalie Cal Pickard while Elliott mends the lower-body injury he incurred Thursday night during a 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Elliott, 33, injured in the third period while trying to move from one side of the crease to the other in an effort to block Kyle Palmieri’s insurance goal, is expected to miss two weeks according to general manager