Josh Norris finally makes an impact
The Buffalo Sabres acquired Josh Norris last season as part of the Dylan Cozens trade with the Ottawa Senators. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to stay on the ice due to injuries and played only three games last season and the opening game this season.
The good news is that Norris looks close to returning, and not only will he return, but he will make a big impact on this offense. One area in particular that he can help is in the faceoff circle, where the Sabres currently rank last in the NHL at only 43%, as he has a career faceoff percentage of 52.4%.
Fans and the team have patiently had to wait for Norris to get ready to help this team and this next stretch of games is where they see why the Sabres decided to trade for him.
Alex Lyon emerges as the Buffalo Sabres top goaltender
The Buffalo Sabres have been trying to juggle a three-goalie rotation since the return of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. They have seemingly gone with a player who can string a few good starts together, and then once he struggles, goes to the next goalie.
This is probably not sustainable and eventually will need to get down to a more traditional goalie rotation. Even if they keep all three goalies on the roster, Alex Lyon is going to be the one who emerges as their top option and is treated like the starter over this next stretch of games.
Lyon began the season as the starter with Luukkonen out due to an injury, and he helped keep this team afloat with an excellent stretch of games. On the season, he has a 3-5-3 record, but in his 12 starts has quality starts in eight of those games, while the other two goalies combine for only four. He has the best save percentage of .907 and is the goalie with the only shutout for the Sabres this season.
Lyon hasn’t seen the ice since he was pulled early in the game against the Colorado Avalanche. He should be getting another start in the next few games with three games in four nights, and he will remind coaches once again why he deserves to be on the ice.