The Buffalo Sabres will still have some figuring out to do at the goalie position.
They missed out on trading for Connor Hellebuyck, who instead went from the Winnipeg Jets to the New Jersey Devils. It leaves the Sabres in a tricky spot — do they actually want to trade for any goalie, or was this all about Hellebuyck? Because now the options are a bunch of veteran pending free agents like St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington and Detroit’s John Gibson.
The Sabres certainly don’t seem likely to be in a rush for one of those deals. They’ve got goalie depth — it just hasn’t played well enough in the early going.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has struggled in his time as the No. 1 this season. Alex Lyon, the presumed backup, is still out with an injury and hasn’t played since the preseason. Colten Ellis was a quality reserve last season but hadn’t started strong this season, either.
It has raised a lot of concerns, but those were at least mitigated Tuesday night in San Jose against the Sharks.
Sabres’ Decision Pays Off
The Sabres could’ve started either of their healthy goalies on Tuesday night in San Jose, UPL or Ellis. Buffalo didn’t play the night before, so there was flexibility there.
They hinted at their choice at practice on Monday when Ellis was in the starter’s net, and that indeed is the direction they went on Tuesday.
Ellis and the Sabres then went and shut out the Sharks in a 2-0 win.
That’s called a good choice by Lindy Ruff and company.
Colten Ellis Stats
On Tuesday night, Ellis faced 23 shots. He saved all 23.
Of those, 20 saves were at even strength. He also made two saves against San Jose power play shots and one save on a shorthanded shot.
San Jose was led in shots by their young superstar Macklin Celebrini, who had four shots on goal, but Ellis saved them all.
That allowed the slow-starting Sabres’ offense to eventually figure itself out to get the win.
Buffalo got a goal from Olen Zellweger 50 seconds into the second period with assists by Konsta Helenius and Owen Power for a 1-0 lead.
The Sabres didn’t score again until Zach Benson found the empty net with 55 seconds to play, assisted by Power and Tage Thompson.
But with Ellis standing firm in goal, that was fine on this night. Buffalo didn’t need more than its pair of goals, because the Sabres’ goaltending was great for a change. They’ll be hoping for more of that.
Sabres’ Goalie Decision Pays Off Amid Trade Rumors