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 forever-kid 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 happy-go-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 Ron Hextall. But as for going with a tandem of Pickard and Lyon, Hextall was somewhat vague.
“We’ll roll with the best that’s out there, whether it’s what we have or something else,” Hextall said. “We’re always looking to upgrade our team if we can but we picked Calvin up because we believed in him and we also believe that Alex is pretty close. So they’re going to have a chance here and we’ll see where it goes.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for his depth goalies, though seeing Pickard give up six goals late last month in Columbus and allow four goals three other times among his seven appearances this season wouldn’t exactly instill confidence in any GM, no matter how much of a believer he might be.
Pickard, who played 86 games with Colorado over three part-time seasons and one game with the Maple Leafs while serving all last season with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, was picked up off waivers from the Leafs on Oct. 2 with Neuvirth again out of the lineup. He’s gone 3-1-1 but with a 4.33 GAA and .865 saves percentage.
As for Neuvirth, his latest recovery is progressing along and Hextall actually said “I wouldn’t be surprised” if Neuvirth returned before Elliott could.
But no Flyers fan of recent seasons would take that bet. So let’s just say that this latest Philadelphia goaltending crisis should yield another chance or several for Lyon to live his dream. It’s one he takes very seriously.
“In terms of staying here the last couple of summers, getting experience here last year, obviously it’s huge, but it’s also belief,” Lyon said Friday. “That’s 95 percent of the battle, believing that you can do it. I guess at this point I just feel more comfortable with myself and whatever the opportunity might be, I’m going to take it a day at a time, and let it fly.
“As I get older and maybe a little wiser and less immature, it comes a little easier.”
Although the Flyers goaltending ranks were populated with the likes of thentop goalie prospect Anthony Stolarz and highly regarded 2015 draft pick Felix Sandstrom, Lyon signed on as an undrafted free agent in April 2016, foregoing his senior season at Yale.
The club went on to draft top-shelf goalie prospect Carter Hart two months later, but Lyon went on to become an instrumental part of the Phantoms’ goaltending tandem over the past two seasons, given an expedited opportunity to play as Stolarz suffered a couple of long-term setbacks with knee injuries.
With Elliott and Neuvirth in place for the Flyers last season, Lyon would have his NHL chances. He wound up playing in 11 games, earning his first win in Madison Square Garden, and eventually going 4-2-1 with a 2.75 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.
That earned him a twoyear contract worth $1.5 million as a restricted free agent last July. For the Flyers, that could turn out to be a bargain deal. But for an undrafted Yaleie who says “90 percent of my (college) teammates are now doing investment banking,” well, it’s not like hitting the skids.
“There’s something to be said for the growth and the hunger mindset,” Lyon said. “I didn’t just come up to win one game in Madison Square Garden. My goal all along has been to win a lot of NHL games and to play a long time in the NHL. You focus on one day at a time, but then you keep that in the back of your head, because there’s always another step and another step ... so I think that’s important to keep that in mind because it minimalizes the situation a little bit.
“I’m not strong mentally, I do it out of necessity more than anything. The more tools you can put in your tool belt the more valuable the commodity you are. I understand I’m a free agent, so it’s going to take time and I’m going to have to work my way up. So the more tools Alex Lyon can provide to an NHL organization the more they’ll need him. That’s a reality in any business or any facet of life.”