This season, for many teams, did not go the way that it was expected to go. For the Buffalo Sabres, it was anything but the way it was supposed to go. Entering the 2021 season, the Sabres goalie tandem was Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark. Hutton was coming off an eye procedure he had in the offseason and was expected to re-gain the Buffalo crease as their #1 goalie. Carter Hutton was the back-up to Ullmark, although many felt he was ready to be the Sabres full-time #1 goalie.
Carter Hutton suffered a lower-body injury on March 22nd against the Rangers, and while he was on his way to recovery and returning to the Sabres crease, he experienced a setback and has not played since. During his time as the starter, Hutton went 1-10-1, with a .866 save percentage. It is also worth noting that the Sabres, during that time, were going through a terrible stretch of offensive play. Then the Sabres started to rely on Linus Ullmark as their #1 while Dustin Tokarski served as the backup.
Ullmark, during his starts for the Sabres this year, has gone 9-6-3, with a 2.63 GAA and .917 Save %. One of the few bright spots in the Sabres lineup this year. But once again, injuries took over as he sustained a lower-body injury on February 25th in a game against the New Jersey Devils. After missing 15 games, Ullmark returned to the ice and played well on a Sabres team that was going through one of the worst and longest winless streaks in NHL history. But, as mentioned earlier, the injury bug found its way back into the Sabres netminder, as he was injured once again against a game the Bruins and is considered week-to-week. The Sabres are hopeful he can return before the end of the season.
At the time of the injuries to Hutton and Ullmark, Jonas Johannson was slated to be the #3 goalie for the Sabres, and played in 7 games, going 0-5-0-1 with a 3.79 GAA and a .884 Save %. Johannson was traded to the Colorado Avalanche for a 6th round pick later in the year.
The next on the list is goaltending prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Sabres, now onto their 5th goalie this year, had hoped to get Luukkonen into the lineup at some point to get him some experience in the NHL. Many thought that he was not ready for the NHL after struggling in the AHL with the Rochester Americans, but the goalie situation called for him to come up and serve as back-up to then starter Dustin Tokarski. In his NHL debut, UPL made 36 saves on 40 shots in a 6-4 win against the Boston Bruins. I was a bit skeptical at first of UPL coming up and playing, but after watching him and his style of play, he may be ready for a full-time backup job next season, where, if he does earn that promotion, should see somewhere between 20-25 games depending on who the #1 is. In four games this seaosn Luukkonen has gone 1-3 with a 3.88 GAA and a .906 Save %. The 22-year-old goalie suffered an ankle injury against the Boston Bruins and has been listed as day-to-day.
Last, but most certainly not least, Michael Houser. Many people may not know his name, but his story is incredible. Houser suited up for his first NHL start Monday night against the New York Islanders and made 34 saves on 36 shots in a 4-2 win. Houser bounced around from the ECHL to the AHL. Since the 2016-2017 season, Houser has only played 1 game above the ECHL level. Houser was the 6th goalie to appear for the Sabres this year, tying a franchise record set in 2013-2014. Housers’s story is so incredible because of the adversity he overcame. He was born with bilateral club feet, which is a deformity that affects the bones in a child, and also affects the blood vessels, muscles, and tendons. He went through procedure after procedure to help fix this issue. Houser, who was never drafted by an NHL team, said “It’s kept me going, for sure, it’s made me work a bit harder”. After his win in his NHL debut, Houser was overcome with emotion and said “I’ve worked my whole life for this. For it to happen and just to play a game is really special.” Houser will once again get the start in net for the Sabres tonight against the New York Islanders.
GM Kevyn Adams has a lot of work to do this summer, and at the top of the list, among others, is to fix the goalie situation he has. It is pretty hard to believe that in a shortened 56 game season, the Sabers have gone through 6 goalies already. The injuries do not do the Sabres any favor and will certainly not make teams feel bad for them, they have to push through these last remaining games and gear up for an off-season of change.