USA’s Alex Lyon suffers injury at IIHF World Championship, out for tournament
As reported by NHL Network’s Jon Morosi, USA goaltender Alex Lyon has returned home after getting injured in the team’s win over Germany at the IIHF World Championship on Saturday evening.
The actual injury hasn’t been confirmed by USA Hockey, but it’s believed to be related to his left hand. Augustine left the game early in the second period after players on both teams poked around the crease to pick up a puck near Lyon’s glove hand.
Trey Augustine, a Detroit Red Wings prospect, finished off the game, helping the team to a 6-1 victory in USA’s first win of the event.
Lyon had started both games for the Americans in his first game action with USA Hockey. He had a .940 save percentage through parts of five periods. Lyon was previously the third goaltender at the 2015 tournament after his second year at Yale University, taking home bronze despite never seeing the ice.
The 31-year-old had a breakthrough season with the Red Wings, playing a career-best 44 games for the team that missed the playoffs. He registered a 21-18-5 record with two shutouts and a .904 save percentage while sharing the net with James Reimer and Ville Husso.
Lyon completed the first season of a two-year deal with a $900,000 AAV.
The Baudette, Minnesota native earned the deal after helping the Florida Panthers sneak into the postseason in 2022-23. His late season 9-4-2 run helped the team clinch the last spot, with Lyon ultimately losing the starting gig to Sergei Bobrovsky midway through the first round. Florida lost to Vegas in the Stanley Cup final.
USA will return to action against Slovakia on Monday with Augustine and Alex Nedeljkovic serving as the team’s two goaltenders. The team will be able to replace Lyon with a third goaltender due to injury.
The World Championship is being held in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia from May 10-26.