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Buffalo Sabres Goaltending Situation: What To Do? Part I

By Melissa Kania

Feb 16, 2016; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner (40) makes a a save in the third period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators defeated the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 16, 2016; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner (40) makes a a save in the third period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators defeated the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports /
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With 68 games under the team’s belt, three goaltenders have appeared in at least one game for the Buffalo Sabres this season; four have been dressed for games.

This is a big difference from years past, when the Buffalo Sabres saw multiple injuries strike, trades and other things that otherwise upset the goaltending balance of things.

Today, we’ll take a look at how these goaltenders have fared for the Buffalo Sabres, and what we could see going forward.

First up, let’s figure out who these guys are.

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Four goaltenders have dressed for the Buffalo Sabres this season: Chad Johnson, Robin Lehner, Nathan Lieuwen and Linus Ullmark. Of those four, Lieuwen is the only one who hasn’t actually played for the team this year.

Way back in October, the Buffalo Sabres opened the season with Lehner and Johnson as their one-two punch.

That, of course, quickly changed after Lehner was hurt in the season-opener.

Lieuwen was recalled from the AHL’s Rochester Americans, and he backed up Johnson for five consecutive games. Johnson won two of those three.

The Buffalo Sabres then decided to pull up Ullmark from the AHL, swapping him for Lieuwen.

The team went with the Johnson-Ullmark pairing for the majority of the rest of the season — 37 games, until Lehner was ready to return from injury.

Since Lehner’s return, we’ve been back with the Lehner-Johnson pairing for the past 25 games.

Overall, here are the pairings we’ve seen this season (starter-backup):

  • Johnson-Lehner (7 games — 5 wins, 2 losses)
  • Johnson-Lieuwen (5 games — 2 wins, 3 losses)
  • Johnson-Ullmark (18 games — 7 wins, 11 losses)
  • Lehner-Johnson (19 games — 5 wins, 14 losses)
  • Ullmark-Johnson (19 games — 6 wins, 13 losses)

So, for those keeping track at home: Chad Johnson has started 30 games this season and appeared in 35 total. He’s gone 15-14-0-3 with a .918 save percentage and 2.42 GAA.

Ullmark has started in 19, appeared in 19, and gone 7-10-0-2 with a .915 save percentage and 2.58 GAA.

Lehner has started in 19, appeared in 19, and gone 5-8-0-4 with a .927 save percentage and 2.42 GAA.

Johnson was heavily relied upon during Lehner’s absence, starting in 23 of 42 saves during Lehner’s absence. But since Lehner’s return, he’s started just 7 of 25 games. The Sabres have won five of those seven, while they’ve won just five of the 18 games where Lehner’s started since his return.

If nothing else, it’s good food for thought, especially when looking ahead at next season. Lehner is locked up for next season, but Johnson is set to be an unrestricted free agent unless the Buffalo Sabres re-sign him.

Would you take Lehner as your starter next season? Would you bring back Johnson, or pull up a guy like Ullmark from the AHL and give him his first full NHL season? (Of course, there’s also the potential that Murray brings in someone else via free agency this summer… never know what tricks he has up his sleeve.)

As for Lieuwen…. well, he’s set to be an RFA this season, and it seems less and less likely that he’ll ever make it for a solidified spot in the NHL. Would the Sabres still keep him if he’s going to be an AHL-only goaltender at this point?

Next: Lehner Leads Weekly Three Stars

It’s certainly a difficult decision, especially with how Ullmark performed generally well during his first spin at the big league. I don’t think I’d mind giving him another chance, but then that also spills down to the AHL level and affects the goaltending situation for the Amerks, which we’ll discuss in part two of this three-part series.

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