Lyon Optimistic He Won’t be Sidelined For Lengthy Period

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon believes the upper body injury suffered Saturday will only cause a short-term absence from practice and games.

However, neither Lyon, or Detroit coach Derek Lalonde, is specific about what that means.

Lyon said he expects to practice “sooner rather than later.”

“The body feels pretty good,” Lyon said. “I think I’ll be able to get back on the ice pretty soon …I’m optimistic.”

Lalonde was more conservative in his projection.

“We’ll see more today, but I think he’s going to be out for a little bit,” Lalonde said. “Does he need to go on the IR? I think we’re working through that. He will not be on the ice today or tomorrow which would make him unavailable for Wednesday.”

Ville Husso will start Monday against the Anaheim Ducks. The silver lining of Lyon’s injury was that Husso looked sharp in relief. The Red Wings would like to see Husso get on an extended roll. He has played well in his past two appearances.

Husso Sharp

Lalonde was asked what he liked best about the Red Wings’ defensive play over the last two games, and he said: “Good goaltending is one thing. Those are both legit. We had that 5-1 stretch where I think we gave up four goals or goal a game or less than a goal a game. And then that poor stretch. Our underlying numbers weren’t much different and then even the last two games, those were good games. You’re talking single digit or just in the teens, chances against, but we got really good goaltending in those. But past that one-third mark, things are officially starting to take shape. I think people get a little more desperate with their game. You saw that vs. Carolina and you saw it in Philly. ”

The Red Wings are carrying three goalies, but James Reimer wasn’t on the trip when Lyon was injured. If Reimer had been with them, he could have dressed to replace Lyon on the bench. But the Red Wings still won’t necessarily travel with three. It will depend on practices and availability of ice. Reimer was able to get some shots by staying in Detroit.

The Lyon injury occurred when he landed awkwardly after making a save.

“I thought it was one thing and I was fortunate it was not that,” Lyon said.

Asked whether he tweaked a muscle, Lyon said: “I think it was mostly out of fear. You just know your body and how things feel and something happens and you’re like, ‘Oh, man, this could be something that’s scary.’ It turned out it wasn’t that. It turned out fortunate. I just didn’t know.”

He said he was stressed about the situation until he talked to the Philadelphia Flyers physician.

“Early on in my career I had some hip/groin type of issues,” Lyon said. “I worked really hard to rectify that. So that’s kind of where your initial fear goes. If this is something bad, I don’t want to push it and make it worse than it already is. But I know the Philly team and the staff very well, I actually knew the doctor pretty well from my time in Philly, so it was nice to see him.