The Buffalo Sabres turnaround in mid-December may have had more to do with two factors; the return of center Josh Norris from nearly two months on the injured list, and the going with Alex Lyon between the pipes. The Sabres went 14-3-1 with Norris in the lineup before he suffered a rib injury against Philadelphia on January 14th, and Lyon won seven straight before suffering a lower-body injury in St. Louis on December 29.

The Sabres pace slowed down slightly with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colten Ellis between the pipes, but Lyon has continued where he left off, winning two games this week against Nashville and pitching a 26-save shutout against the NY Islanders on Saturday afternoon for his club-record tying ninth consecutive victory.

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The win is Lyon’s 12th of the season (12-6-3, 2.70 GAA, .911sv %) and moves the 33-year-old into the club lead in victories over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The veteran netminder had matched five other Sabres goalies (Ryan Miller, Bob Sauve, Don Edwards, Carter Hutton, and Gerry Desjardins) with eight consecutive victories, and is now tied with Desjardins for the club-record, set in 1976-77.

"He's just given us a lot of real good hockey battle-hardened games. Tonight was fabulous. You look at the power play that we got a whole all out of sorts. The four saves he made on the power play, that could have turned the game for sure," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "(Alex has) been able to step in, coming off injury, and play well, battle through games. He's given us some great hockey."

The win moved the Sabres into third spot in the Atlantic Division, tied with Montreal and one point ahead of Boston, who hold the two Eastern Conference wildcard spots. Lyon could set the record when Buffalo finishes off their road trip in Toronto on Tuesday.

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Lyon Ties Sabres Record For Consecutive Victories