Buffalo Sabres: Will Eric Comrie turn his season around?
By Sion Fawkes
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Eric Comrie took part in the team’s morning skate in Denver, indicating he’s close to returning from injury.
The Buffalo Sabres may have Eric Comrie back in the net sooner than later, as the 27-year-old was listed as a full participant in the team’s morning practice. Comrie could see his return occur as early as next week, but head coach Don Granato won’t rush the goaltender back into the fold. He did indicate Comrie is more day to day than week to week.
When the injury occurred in a loss to the Ottawa Senators, Comrie initially looked like he took a bad hit and was able to shake everything off. But spotty lateral movement led to a goal from Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, and Buffalo pressed Craig Anderson into relief duty.
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Eric Comrie inching closer to a return
Comrie caught the Buffalo Sabres eye in free agency following a stint in Winnipeg where he finished 10-5-1, posted a 0.920 save percentage, and a 2.58 GAA. This season, however, has been a different story.
He is just 4-7-0 in 2022-23, with a save percentage of 0.887 and a 3.62 GAA. While injuries to the Sabres lineup earlier in the year did not help Comrie, just last evening, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen delivered an outstanding performance with behind a decimated defensive rotation.
It was a five-man rotation missing fielding just two regular defensemen in Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson. An injury to Owen Power in pregame warmups kept him out of action, and Ilya Lyubushkin, Henri Jokiharju, and Jacob Bryson were already missing time.
Therefore, Comrie has a massive obstacle in front of him once he returns to action. If Luukkonen puts together a string of good performances, then what? Or, what if the Sabres reassign Luukkonen to Rochester and Comrie continues to struggle?
Luukkonen could set the bar high for Comrie in the coming week. And the journeyman goaltender must play better than he has in the net if he plans on keeping his job. Comrie would ideally return to the net against lesser competition in games designed to rebuild his confidence before facing tougher teams.
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If he can string together a few good games against easier opponents, there is a good chance he builds on that momentum and gets the ball rolling in the right direction. However, if Comrie struggles early, there is an even better chance we will see Luuukkonen back in the net sooner than later.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)
Article Source: Injured goalie Eric Comrie rejoins Sabres on road trip, looks for reset of his season by Mike Harrington
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