How things have changed with the Buffalo Sabres goaltending in the last few weeks. We’ve gone from discussing the limited options that could be out there to improve the position to have a dilemma with three healthy goaltenders.

They’re finally getting the play in goal that they’ve been looking for the last few years since the departure of Linus Ullmark. This is no longer a team that is winning and outscoring teams despite their goalie performances. Instead, over the last few weeks, the goaltenders have allowed them to win.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has had an outstanding turnaround since his rough start when he was first recalled from the AHL. Craig Anderson has played well for the entirety of the season but only gets the net once a week, if that. The plan appears to be a 60/40 split with Anderson getting the 40% share.

Eric Comrie

The third man in this conversation now is Eric Comrie with his return from a knee injury. He was sent to the Rochester Americans of the AHL on a conditioning loan to get some game action after missing just over a month.

How a conditioning loan works is that a player can be sent down to the AHL for no more than 14 consecutive days. At that point, the player must be activated back to the NHL roster or placed on waivers to remain in the AHL. Therefore, Comrie would need to be recalled back from the AHL on January 15th.

In that timeframe, the Amerks have five games on their schedule. Comrie would likely get at least four of them, if not all five. He looked good in his first game action on Saturday for the Amerks by making 34 saves in a 3-2 win over the Toronto Marlies.

It’ll be interesting to see how Comrie performs at the NHL level when he gets back up. He played well in a few games early in the year, but he had some struggles at times when the defense group in front of him went through injuries.

The pressure will be on when he gets his chance again to play at a high level.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Luukkonen is the one that has made this conversation interesting. He has taken the reins as the number one goaltender on the Sabres roster. Overall, the Finnish goalie has worked his numbers back to a respectable status. He ranks 30th in Evolving Hockey’s model in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes among goaltenders to play at least 300 minutes. A few weeks ago he was in the bottom three of the league in that category.

In his last six starts, Luukkonen has saved 10.29 goals above expected in all situations. That’s a promising turn of events from his first six starts where he had -6.25 goals saved above expected in the twins’ model.

This is been the story for Luukkonen for the last few years. He has struggled to find that consistency and it has made him frustrated to follow. His next stretch of games will hopefully give us an idea of what kind of player he can be for the Sabres moving forward.

As for his status on the roster, it’s going to be a tough decision for Kevyn Adams. Once Comrie returns, he technically has to be reassigned to the Amerks immediately since he is up on an emergency recall. That doesn’t mean the Sabres can’t recall him again right after that. It’s just a paper transaction that needs to occur.

If he continues to play well, then they should be left with no choice other than to leave him in the NHL. This organization is big on earning your opportunity and he has done that.

On the other hand, we do have a similar situation that unfolded with the New Jersey Devils. They had a young goaltender in Akira Schmid. In eight games, he had saved 6.47 goals above expected for the Devils. However, when Mackenzie Blackwood returned from his conditioning loan, he was sent back down to the AHL to make room on the roster.

We’ll see what path Adams and company decide to go down.

Craig Anderson

That brings us to the final player in the discussion, Craig Anderson. The 41-year-old has been good when he has been called upon. The catch is that it’s clear he’s only going to play once every week or two. He only started three games in the entire month of December. The Sabres only played nine games this past month with the postponements due to the winter storm, but that’s still only 33% of the games he ended up playing.

He’s an important part of the locker room and a leader which makes him a valuable piece. Anderson’s situation brings in the idea of carrying three goaltenders, but that comes with a consequence to the roster.

If they carry three goalies on the roster, that’ll mean one of Rasmus Asplund or Vinnie Hinostroza will have to be waived unless a trade is made to move out a forward. They are currently carrying two extra forwards and one extra defenseman.

As I mentioned, the Sabres have a few weeks to figure this out and a solution could present itself over that time. Either way, let’s just hope the goaltending continues to perform at this level.

Data via: Evolving Hockey and Cap Friendly

Photo Credit: Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images