The Buffalo Sabres on Monday afternoon announced their initial 23-man roster, and it was a combination of good and not-so-good news for the team. On the positive end, the Sabres didn't have any of their Top 3 goalies or Olen Zellweger on injured reserve.
In addition, Jiri Kulich and Justin Danforth are on the initial 23-man roster as there was speculation that one or both might begin the season in Rochester. It will be interesting to see if either is in the lineup for the first game of the season.
On the other side, the Sabres did have two of their expected Top 6 defensemen start the season on injured reserve with Mattias Samuelsson and Connor Timmins. Samuelsson's injury has been known for a bit now, but Timmins was a surprise as there was no indication they were dealing with an injury after playing 16 minutes in the final preseason game.
The big question on the blueline is who will replace Samuelsson on the top pair with Dahlin, but at this point all signs point to Louis Crevier. With Zellweger not on injured reserve, and the Sabres only have six defensemen on this roster is a good indication that he will be available. The Sabres should jump right into the pairing of Owen Power and Zellweger, and if they do that, then Louis Crevier should be the player paired with Rasmus Dahlin.
In addition to Samuelsson and Timmins, the Sabres had five other players on injured reserve on the initial roster, with Jason Zucker, Conor Sheary, Jack Rathbone, and goalie Topias Leinonen being the other players.
Buffalo Sabres still have uncertainty for who will start the first game of the season at goalie
The Sabres came out of the preseason with plenty of injuries as evidenced by how many players are on the injured reserve. One position that seemed to be hit particularly hard was goalie, as Alex Lyon left the third preseason game early with a shoulder surgery and then Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen left the last preseason game after only a few minutes into the third period after tweaking something.
The fact that neither was placed on injured reserve is a great sign but it doesn't necessarily indicate who will begin the season in net. Fortunately, they are going to have a little bit of time to figure that out, as their first regular-season game isn't until Thursday night.
If Lyon or Luukkonen are ready, then they will get the start, but if not, the Sabres should feel confident in Colten Ellis in net. The young goalie joined the Sabres almost a year ago after being waived by the St. Louis Blues.
He didn't see the ice as much as the other goalies, but when he played, he did a good job. That was once again the case this preseason, as he didn't start any game but appeared in all four in relief of Lyon or Luukkonen.
The Sabres should have one or two more practices before they kick off the regular season and that should give an indication of what Lindy Ruff and the coaching staff is thinking for the game against the Blue Jackets.
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