The Buffalo Sabres look set up to start Colten Ellis in goal on Tuesday night.
Coming off their first win of the season, the Sabres will be at home for a difficult matchup against the high-powered Minnesota Wild, and they’re going with an unlikely goalie choice.
It’s nothing against Ellis, but most wouldn’t have expected this summer for Ellis to be starting the Sabres’ third game of the season, particularly with no back-to-back games involved.
But on Monday, Ellis was in the starter’s net at practice. That usually tells the whole story.
Something could change by the time the puck drops on Tuesday night, but it sure looks like Ellis is getting the nod.
That means that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon will both be watching.
Why is Colten Ellis Starting?
At a core level here, it seems like head coach Lindy Ruff simply wants to give Ellis a chance to get his feet wet in the new season.
It’s not easy for backup goalies to spend a ton of time watching and not a ton of time playing.
The Sabres also found a good amount of success last season even with a frequent goalie rotation, and it’s clear they don’t mind doing that here in the early going.
Last season was the first time Ellis got a shot at the NHL level, and he was solid. He had an 8-4-2 record with Buffalo while putting up a 90.3 save percentage and a 2.90 goals against average.
He just turned 26 years old on Monday, and after the Sabres acquired him more than a year ago, Ellis is now starting year two as a potential NHL-level contributor in Buffalo.
His starting spot on Tuesday also comes at least in part because of an injury.
Alex Lyon Injury Update
The Sabres have Ellis as their No. 2 goalie to start the season because they’ve got Alex Lyon on injured reserve.
Lyon was hurt late in the preseason, and it’s not immediately clear when he’ll be ready to return.
This actually proves why having Ellis around is a good thing, because he can certainly hold his own in the meantime.
The Sabres likely would’ve relied on Luukkonen as their top goalie to begin the year no matter the health of Lyon, but the Ellis push for a backup spot would’ve been interesting to watch.
Now, Ellis gets a real opportunity to make a case that he should remain on the bench even when Lyon returns. It’ll be fascinating to see whether Ellis pushes Ruff to make a tough decision whenever Lyon gets healthy.
The first chance Ellis will have to do that comes Tuesday night, assuming he does indeed get the start. If he can slow down the Wild, that’s a big early statement by the reserve goalie.
Why Sabres Are Starting Colten Ellis at Goalie Over UPL, Alex Lyon