The Sabres placed goaltender Colten Ellis on injured reserve today, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550. That opens the roster spot for forward Trevor Kuntar to join the team after signing a two-way deal yesterday.
Ellis, 25, was pulled from Tuesday’s overtime win over the Oilers by concussion spotters late in the first period. He took an inadvertent shoulder to the head from Edmonton right winger David Tomasek as he was cutting across the crease with the puck (video via Crossing Swords on X).
For at least the next two games, Buffalo’s three-goalie rotation is down to two. The Sabres nearly lost another netminder today when Alex Lyon briefly left practice in apparent pain, but he returned to the session and is expected to start tonight’s game against the Canucks as scheduled, per Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News.
Ellis, a 2019 third-round pick by the Blues, didn’t have any NHL experience entering the season. He spent most of his pro career in the ECHL until last year, when he broke out as St. Louis’ third-stringer. He took over the starting role in AHL Springfield with a .922 SV% in 42 appearances.
The Blues were hoping to sneak him through waivers to start the season to keep him as insurance behind their tandem of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. However, the Sabres took their chance to claim him with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen facing injury concerns and the since-released Alexandar Georgiev coming off a disappointing preseason showing.
Instead of placing Ellis on waivers when Luukkonen returned and risk St. Louis reclaiming him, Buffalo has opted to carry three goaltenders for most of the season. With seven starts, Ellis has gotten the least playing time of the trio. He’s had a couple of standout appearances – a .935 SV% in his NHL debut against the Red Wings on Oct. 22 and a 32-save performance against the Oilers last month with just one goal allowed. On the whole, though, he’s been just as middling as what Luukkonen and Lyon have put on offer this season.
Ellis is the only Buffalo goalie with an above-average record, going 4-3-0, but his .895 SV% is second behind Lyon’s .899, and his 3.25 GAA is the worst. His -0.9 goals saved above expected put him in the middle between Lyon’s neutral mark and Luukkonen’s -2.4, per MoneyPuck.
It will be Luukkonen and Lyon’s crease for at least the next couple of games. Ellis will be eligible to come off IR on Dec. 18 against the Flyers.
They’ll use his spot to get the newly signed Kuntar into the mix. The Buffalo native is expected to sit in the press box tonight instead of making his NHL debut, though. The 2020 third-rounder by the Bruins began the season on a minor-league contract with AHL Rochester and had nine goals in 24 games, tied for the team lead, before landing an NHL deal.