3 – Comrie is back in his element
Last season, Eric Comrie was supposed to be the 1A and hold the position down until at least Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was ready to make the jump. But pedestrian play in the net showed us all that Comrie’s ceiling was that of an NHL backup who was best suited to start every few games.
This year, he sat out the first four games of the year while rookie Devon Levi got the nod, and it serves as no surprise that he looked like the Eric Comrie of 2021-22 during his time with the Winnipeg Jets. Having stopped 24 of 25 shots on goal with a 0.960 save percentage, it’s safe to say that Comrie only needs to play every third of fourth game, and he will be fine.
If the Buffalo Sabres were to start Devon Levi from here on out in every other game, Comrie in roughly every three games, and Luukkonen in roughly every three for the duration that the latter is in the City of Good Neighbors, then they have good balance. If the Sabres revert back to two goaltenders, rolling with Levi every two to three games and Comrie sprinkling in will also work.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)