On Thursday, head coach Lindy Ruff announced that Alex Lyon suffered an injury during practice on Wednesday and could miss the start of the playoffs. At this point, Lyon was expected to be the backup once the playoffs begin, given how well Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has played.
However, it certainly comes at a risk as the Sabres' backup would be Colten Ellis, who made his NHL debut this season after the Buffalo Sabres claimed him on waivers at the start of the regular season. He has started 12 games but hasn't made a start since February 3rd against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With the Sabres playing a back-to-back, the team decided to go with Colten Ellis in net over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. It is a smart move as Luukkonen is now even more vital to the Sabres' playoff chances, and they can't run the risk of him suffering an injury.
Colten Ellis delivers a career performance for the Buffalo Sabres in a must-win game
It also gave Colten Ellis a chance to start in case he does need to be the backup when the playoffs begin if Alex Lyon is unavailable. In the end, it was a move that worked out better than anyone could imagine as Ellis delivered his first career shutout as he stopped all 37 shots he faced.
The Blue Jackets did not make it easy on Ellis as they had 16 high-danger chances and based on the shots and opportunities he faced, Natural Stat Trick had an Expected Goals Against of 3.56.
After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff was very complimentary of Ellis and didn't seem overly surprised by the performance. According to Jonathan Acosta of WGRZ, Ruff said Ellis "puts a lot of work in. The ultimate competitor...first guy to the rink a lot of times."
It was a night that the Sabres needed those two points to remain ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division. Ellis showed that he could deliver in these high-pressure situations, and if there was a reason they had to turn to him in the playoffs, he certainly has shown he can make the plays when needed.