Sabres Pull Lyon Early in Game 6

Buffalo’s season hit the ropes almost as soon as the puck dropped.

The Sabres started Alex Lyon in Saturday night’s Game 6 against the Montreal Canadiens with elimination staring them down, then yanked him halfway through the first period after he gave up three goals on three shots. Buffalo turned to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in a move that underscored both the urgency of the moment and the speed of the collapse.

The decision to go with Lyon carried obvious risk, and the opening minutes brought the worst possible outcome. Reports indicate Montreal capitalized immediately, forcing Buffalo into an early hole before the game could settle. In a postseason setting, that kind of start can reshape not only a night but an entire series.

Buffalo made its goaltending choice with no margin for error, and that margin disappeared in a matter of minutes.

For the Sabres, the switch to Luukkonen was more than a tactical adjustment; it was an attempt to stop the emotional bleed. Teams can recover from a bad bounce or a soft goal, but three straight strikes put enormous pressure on every shift that follows. Sources suggest Buffalo needed instant stability just to give itself a chance to claw back.

What happens next will shape how this game and Buffalo’s broader postseason push get remembered. If Luukkonen steadies the crease and the Sabres respond, the early change could stand as a desperate but necessary reset. If not, the decision to start Lyon — and the speed with which it unraveled — will sit at the center of the postgame reckoning.