The last time Colten Ellis was on the ice was against the Calgary Flames on November 19th, when he allowed six goals. However, the struggles against the Flames weren't entirely on Ellis, and it was collectively an ugly performance.
Since then, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon have gotten a few starts, but neither has truly established themselves as the starters in this three-goalie rotation. On Saturday against the Minnesota Wild, it was Colten Ellis' turn in arguably the toughest matchup as he was on the road against one of the top teams in the NHL.
Ellis would go on to show that the Flames game was nothing more than one bad game, and he is unquestionably their best goalie. In the game against Minnesota, he gave up two goals in the first period, but it is hard to argue that either was on him, as the first was by Kirill Kaprizov after a defensive breakdown and the second was off a bad turnover by Alex Tuch that allowed Matt Boldy to score on a breakaway.
After that, Ellis didn't allow another goal and kept the Sabres in this game until they tied it up in the third which pushed it to overtime. After neither team scored in overtime, Ellis would stop two out of four shootout attempts by the Wild that secured the win for the Sabres.
Colten Ellis was an unknown entering the season for the Buffalo Sabres but has shown enough to be the starter moving forward
Entering the season, the Buffalo Sabres seemingly were scrambling to solidify the goalie position. They entered training camp with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen dealing with an injury, and would sign Alexandar Georgiev.
After a few weeks, it didn't seem to be any better as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returned for one period in the preseason before suffering another injury, and Georgiev struggled through his preseason appearances. The Sabres would go on to claim Colten Ellis on waivers, who was a third-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in 2019 but had yet to make an NHL appearance.
It seems like all Ellis needed was a chance, and getting that in Buffalo, he has seized that opportunity. In six games this season, Ellis has a 4-2 record with a save percentage of .898 and a goals against average of 3.13.
What is notable about his performance is the teams he has had to face, as he now has wins against the Detroit Red Wings (twice), Edmonton Oilers, and now Minnesota Wild. He has also been in the net for their only two road wins the Sabres have this season.
The Sabres have tried to make this three-goalie rotation work since Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returned a few weeks ago from injury. However, the results have been clear, and that is Colten Ellis gives this team their best chance to win when he is in the net.
The experiment should be over for the Sabres and this should be Ellis' job moving forward.