When Morgan Geekie sent a 100-foot backhand dump-in towards the Buffalo Sabres' zone on Tuesday night, there weren't too many Boston Bruins fans who were thinking goal. However, through a stroke of good luck that had to make people think the tides were finally turning in Boston's favor, the puck took a weird hop and bounced past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's glove to make it a 2-0 game.
Luukkonen didn't look comfortable at any point in Game 2, and a lack of shots in Game 1 from the Bruins likely quieted the concerns that Sabres fans could've had with their starter on Tuesday night. The Bruins were able to get more high-quality opportunities in Game 2, and they paid off when Viktor Arvidsson chased Luukkonen from the net after his goal early in the third period.
The consensus amongst Bruins fans was that Luukkonen's issues were a great sign for Boston's chances in the series. If Buffalo is heading into Game 3 with questions about their goaltending and low confidence from their Finnish starter, the Bruins might have a team that is ripe for the picking.
I'm trying to temper expectations and maybe even be too negative if that's how Bruins fans feel, but I don't think Alex Lyon taking over for Luukkonen in Game 3 would be as much of a win for Boston as you may think. The lights are too bright for Luukkonen, but Lyon has made a career of entering the starter's role when the rest of his team's goalies are hurt or failing and giving his teams some solid minutes between the pipes.
It's actually a bit surprising that Bruins fans might have forgotten that the Florida Panthers might not have ruined Boston's historic 2022-23 season if Lyon hadn't been on their team. Sergei Bobrovsky was failing through the regular season, and Lyon recorded a .914 save percentage over 15 games to drag the team into the postseason.
The journeymen goaltender struggled in the playoffs against the Bruins, but Lyon's scouting report is that he is good in a small sample size, but once he has to take on the starter's role, he begins to fall apart. Lyon only needs to give the Sabres three good games to take the Bruins out in this series.
While some Bruins fans are licking their chops at a potential goaltending controversy, I'm here to warn you to be careful what you wish for.
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