The Buffalo Sabres announced a pair of injury updates on Thursday, one good and one bad.
They pertain to goalie Alex Lyon and forward Konsta Helenius, and both will have an impact on Buffalo’s season going forward.
The Sabres are coming off a brutal 8-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night in which they pulled Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after allowing five goals on 14 shots, only to have backup Colten Ellis allow three more goals on eight shots.
Their goalie situation will be different now, but so too will the forward look without Helenius.
Alex Lyon Injury Update
The Sabres announced Thursday that Alex Lyon is being activated from Injured Reserve.
Lyon had been IR since the start of the regular season.
The Sabres’ presumed No. 2 goalie was hurt late in the preseason and has yet to play in the regular season. He had one setback in the middle of his recovery that kept him out longer.
Now Lyon is back, which will give the Sabres some questions about their goalie depth chart.
UPL and Ellis have both been worse than last season. You can’t necessarily throw Lyon fully into the fire right away, but the Sabres will likely try to feel out in a hurry if Lyon is more dialed in than their other two goalie options.
Ellis would be the easier one to discard in some form at some point. Luukkonen’s likely only way out of town would be an eventual trade.
Lyon played above his past level during the 2025-26 season, so it’s no guarantee he can replicate it, especially coming off injury. But the Sabres’ season might be counting on Lyon recapturing some of that magic.
Konsta Helenius Injury Update
In a corresponding roster move with the Lyon activation, the Sabres placed Helenius on IR.
He was initially hurt when Buffalo was playing in San Jose on Oct. 27.
It’s not totally clear how long Helenius might be out.
Given that the Sabres have been rotating through some forwards as they try to figure out which struggling options should be in the lineup or be scratched, Helenius’ absence at least limits things from being overly crowded.
Still, it’s not ideal for the development of the young forward who first burst onto the scene in last year’s postseason. Buffalo will have to hope Helenius isn’t held out too long.
Sabres Announce Alex Lyon, Konsta Helenius Injury News