Alex Lyon of Florida Panthers Named NHL Third Star of the Week

Florida Panthers goalie Alex Lyon was named one of the NHL’s Three Stars of the Week after winning the past three of his personal six-game winning streak.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle were the first and second stars, respectively.

Lyon, who replaced Sergei Bobrovsky in net against Toronto on March 29 due to an illness, will be back in net tonight against the Maple Leafs for the seventh consecutive game.

Last week, Lyon stopped 117 of the 122 shots he faced and went 3-0-0 with a 1.67/.959 as he has helped the Panthers take the top spot in the Eastern Conference wild card race.

In Florida’s 7-2 win against Ottawa last Thursday, Lyon stopped all 26 shots faced in the opening period and ended with 56 in the game.

That is one shy of tying Roberto Luongo’s franchise record for saves in a single game and is the most in a regulation game in Florida history.

“He was so good,” coach Paul Maurice said. “He made some big saves in the first and it was almost good that he saw that many pucks early because it seemed everything was on net and that warmed him up. It made him feel really good.”

Lyon, 30, has spent much of the season playing for Florida’s AHL team in Charlotte but has had two separate stints filling in for Bobrovsky and/or Spencer Knight.

He is 9-3-1 in 13 games this season going 2.88/.916 with a shutout in Columbus.

“This feels good,” Lyon told Florida Hockey Now last week. “I owe it to the guys in here to play hard for them. And that is what drives me.

“I think sometimes, when things happen that are unexpected, it is better. There has been no mental buildup to what happened this past week.

“I learned the night before that I was playing in Toronto, then we were in Montreal the next day. We had one day, played again. That succession was a good thing. It has been fun. My parents were in Toronto and Montreal and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t nice having them there for that.”

PANTHERS ON DECK

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Monday, 7 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
• Streaming ONLY: ESPN+, Hulu
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Season Series (Toronto leads 2-1): Maple Leafs 5, Panthers 4 OT (Jan. 17); Maple Leafs 6, Panthers 2 (Mar. 23); Panthers 3, Maple Leafs 2 OT (March 29)
• Last season: Florida won 2-1
  
• All-time regular season series: Toronto leads 47-36-7, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m.