Sabres’ Goaltending Battle Reaches Fever Pitch: Who Will Emerge as the True No. 1?

Imagine juggling not two, but three goalies under the glaring spotlight of an NHL roster — sounds like a circus act, right? That’s precisely the spectacle unfolding with the Buffalo Sabres this season. Head coach Lindy Ruff seems to have adopted a ‘win and you’re in’ mantra, handing the starting net duties like a hot potato among his trio of puck-stoppers. Rookie Colten Ellis had his moment in the sun but after a bruising loss, the reins were passed back to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who just barely edged out as the highest-paid latest in the goalie carousel. It’s a balancing act complicated further by looming Olympic dreams and a looming trade deadline, not to mention a pile-up of goaltending talent that’s got the Sabres stuck in a three-headed goalie conundrum, while promising youngster Devon Levi waits in the wings. The season’s just heating up, and trust me—this goalie drama is far from played out! LEARN MORE

It’s not like NHL clubs can put players on Overstock.com, but if they could, the Buffalo Sabres would be probably be first to post. The club continues to carry three goalies on the NHL roster and all three have been given limited runs as the primary starter. At this point, the philosophy on the part of head coach Lindy Ruff seems to be if you win, you stay in.

Rookie Colten Ellis started four of five games earlier this month, but after a 6-2 loss to Calgary, Ruff returned to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who posted consecutive wins over Chicago and Carolina. Up to that point,  Luukkonen appeared to be the highest-paid third goalie in the NHL, as Alex Lyon made the bulk of the starts in the opening month, and Ellis got the net even after Luukkonen was completely healthy after injuries before and during training camp.

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This led to some speculation from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that Luukkonen may become disenchanted with the logjam if it costs him a spot on Team Finland for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Another could be the dearth of quality goaltending options at the trade deadline in March and in free agency next July.

Teams with playoff aspirations like Edmonton in the West and Montreal in the East may be a goalie away from improving their playoff chances. The Sabres crowded crease was alleviated slightly by the contract termination of veteran Alexandar Georgiev (likely headed to Spartak of the KHL), who cleared waivers on Monday, but the Sabres seem to be stuck with a three-headed monster between the pipes for the entire season and with youngster Devon Levi in Rochester, on the outside looking in.

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