Sabres Recall Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen From AHL Conditioning Stint
The Buffalo Sabres had to rely on veteran Alex Lyon for the first six games of the regular season, and although Lyon played well during that stretch, the Sabres lost their first three games before rebounding with a pair of victories over Ottawa and Florida. After a 4-2 victory road loss to Montreal earlier in the week, the Sabres opted to give rookie Colten Ellis his first NHL start against the Detroit Red Wings, while in Rochester, starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started against the Syracuse Crunch on an AHL conditioning stint.
Both goalies were victorious by scores of 4-2, Ellis made 29 saves in his NHL debut win over the Wings, while Luukkonen made it through the entire game and stopped 21 Crunch shots in the Amerks victory. On Thursday, the Sabres recalled Luukkonen from his conditioning stint, setting up an interesting roster situation for GM Kevyn Adams.
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Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff was hesitant in his remarks on what the plans were for Luukkonen past his start on Wednesday. Buffalo plays their first series of back-to-back games against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday and Saturday. The quick recall sets up the possibility of Luukkonen playing in one of the games against the Leafs this weekend.
The signing of veteran Alexandar Georgiev and the claiming of Ellis has the Sabres overstocked between the pipes. Currently, the Amerks have Devon Levi, Georgiev, and 2022 second-rounder Topias Leinonen on the roster, with prospect Scott Ratzlaff in ECHL Jacksonville. Ellis playing well in his first game decreases the odds that the 25-year-old could clear waivers to play in the AHL, but even if that did occur, it would give the Amerks four goalies.
Barring a move on Friday, Adams is likely to carry three goalies on the NHL roster in the short term, just in case of a potential Luukkonen re-injury, but having three goalies was not workable in recent history when the Sabres carried Luukkonen, Levi, and Eric Comrie. Last season, after re-claiming James Reimer off of waivers, the Sabres immediately demoted Levi to Rochester. With Ellis not being waiver exempt, it leaves Buffalo in a situation where they are forced to carry an extra goalie with the big club.
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