Buffalo Sabres goalie Colten Ellis was scheduled to make his second NHL start Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was late scratch, however, which led Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to make his season debut after recovering from a pair of preseason injuries.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after Monday's practice that Ellis, who's 25 years old, woke up Saturday with "old man back" and he couldn't shake the stiffness.
"He's not 19 anymore," Ruff jokingly told Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald. "He's older, and now the back tightens up."
UPL struggled in the unexpected start. The team's incumbent starting goaltender stopped just 18 of the 22 shots he faced in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Atlantic Division rival Leafs.
Colten Ellis' back injury is feeling better and he should be available for the Buffalo Sabres moving forward
Ellis returned to a full practice Monday and will be an option to start as the Sabres prepare for games against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals this week.
"I woke up today, it's feeling good today, so it's progressing well," Ellis told Hoppe.
The former St. Louis Blues prospect dazzled his his debut last week against the Detroit Red Wings. He turned aside 29 of 31 shots, including several during an offensive flurry by the Wings late in the third period as Buffalo held on for a 4-2 win.
Ellis' situation will likely cause the Blue and Gold to carry three netminders for awhile.
The Sabres claimed him off waivers from the Blues, who tried to send him down to the AHL before the start of the regular season. It's a decision St. Louis probably now regrets as both Jordan Binnington (.872 save percentage) and Joel Hofer (.793) have both struggled mightily early in the 2025-26 campaign.
In turn, Buffalo is worried to place Ellis on the waiver wire under the expectation the Blues will claim him back if he's made available.
Having three goalies on the active roster is never an ideal scenario because there simply isn't enough practice time or starts available to keep them all in top form. As the old saying goes, two's company but three's a crowd.
It's led to trade speculation around UPL and Lyon, but Luukkonen's value is probably nearing an all-time low given his struggles last season (.887 SV%) and poor first start this year, and it's hard to imagine the Sabres moving Lyon while he's playing so well (.922).
So, the Sabres will probably do their best to navigate a three-goalie rotation until the situation works itself out one way or another.