Alex Lyon has led Florida to four straight wins and back into a Wild Card spot
Over the years, the Florida Panthers have come up with some truly strange and unique victory rituals.
In terms of physical items, the range utilized when finding things to rally around can be fascinating to explore.
From shovels to rugby balls to a barber’s smock to Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet from The Avengers movies, each trinket carried its own story or reason for being.
The same practice is generally applied for the so-called postgame victory song.
There have been seasons where the same tune played after seemingly every win, like Fetty Wap’s Trap Queen during the Atlantic Division-winning 2015-16 campaign, while other years the song can be swapped out whenever the person controlling the aux cord decides a change needs to be made.
This season has been one of those years where the win song has changed with the breeze.
Recently, a different breed of tuneage has been heard blaring from the Panthers locker room.
It seems the same player who has infused life into Florida’s playoff hopes on the ice is the guy inspiring the latest CD change on the top-of-the-stalls boom box (fist bump to any hockey players who got that reference).
Since stepping in for a sick Sergei Bobrovsky, 30-year-old AHL veteran Alex Lyon has been brilliant for the Panthers.
He’s won all four starts, including three in four nights, all on the road and in different cities that spanned two countries.
The wins have propelled the Panthers to the top of the Wild Card race. They are now holding all the cards with four games left to play.
This is in no small part due to the heroics of the Lyon in Florida’s cage.
“The Lyon King has been really good,” said Panthers center Anton Lundell after Florida’s latest win. “He plays with a lot of confidence. We try to help him as much as we can, but of course, we always need a couple of good saves to win games, and he's been helping us with that.”
During his four-game win streak, Lyon has only surrendered five goals, stopping 116 of 121 shots.
That’s a save percentage of .958.
It helps that Lyon has excellent rebound control, which has limited potentially dangerous second-and-third chance opportunities.
When there have been situations where a quick reflex or strong push have been required to keep pucks out of the net, Lyon has kept his cool and come up with big stops, inspiring confidence from his coaches and teammates.
“He battles,” said Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk. “There’s just no quit in his game. He brings so much positive energy, and it's really been huge for our team down the stretch, going into the playoffs, to have that king of energy.”
After each win, whoever controls the Panthers music has been tapping into that upbeat vibe Lyon has been infusing, though perhaps in a non-traditional way.
It’s not often you hear songs from a Disney movie coming from an NHL locker room, but when the guy’s name is Lyon and he’s playing like a king, it’s not that hard to see how the connection was made.
“It's awesome,” Lyon said of the Panthers playing “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” from “The Lion King” soundtrack after each of his recent wins. “It's a testament to the locker room and the culture of the Florida Panthers. I take a lot of pride in being a good teammate and being accountable, and there are games this year where I didn't play well and they still supported me, and so I’m really appreciative of them.”
As for the identity of the mastermind behind queuing up the song sung by Simba, that remains a mystery.
There have been times where the player responsible for choosing the locker room music has openly discussed their duties. Former Panthers Vincent Trocheck and Frank Vatrano come to mind.
On this occasion, however, the Disney-playing DJ has yet to revel themself.
Players have pointed the finger at each other, and the name of a team staffer was even thrown out at one point.
At this stage of the game, does it even matter?
The ritual itself has brought great vibes to the team, and the camaraderie its bred between Lyon and the Panthers is invaluable.
But does Lyon’s latest tale with Florida have a shelf life?
Bobrovsky is on the mend and expected to be ready to dress for games as soon as Thursday when the Panthers host the Ottawa Senators. He skated both Tuesday and Wednesday and seems to be ramping things up in anticipation of returning to the lineup.
There has been no question this season that when Bob is healthy, he’s the starting goalie.
However, an argument could be made that things have changed in recent weeks.
Before getting sick, Bobrovsky was struggling.
He’d surrendered 27 goals over his last seven starts, which averages out to nearly four per game (3.85) and carried a save percentage of .870. During that span he’d given up five goals three times and four goals twice.
As the playoffs get closer, the games will become more tightly contested, as was the case Tuesday against Buffalo.
Is it worth giving lion’s share of the starts to the goalie on a hot streak, or at least letting him ride out the run and see how far he can take the Cats?
The answer to that question could come as soon as Thursday morning.
Expect Lyon to be ready, regardless of whether he’s called upon again or not.
He’s been around the block and knows how to be the consummate pro, particularly at this time of year.
“I've played a lot of playoff hockey and I'm 30 years old, so I've had a lot of experience, and that goes a long way,” Lyon said. “I'm pretty good at this stage of the game just keeping even and moving forward. You can't really change your approach, can't get too high, can’t get too low. Just keep going.”