BUFFALO – Fresh off a terrific 40-save outing in his first appearance this season, Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark will start tonight’s home game the Florida Panthers.
Ullmark, 26, looked strong throughout Monday’s 4-3 overtime road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, helping the Sabres steal a point.
The Swede has compiled a 2-2-1 record with a 3.18 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in five career outings against the Panthers.
Sabres goalie Carter Hutton made 23 stops in Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Panthers have started slowly under new coach Joel Quenneville, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks.
In Tuesday’s 6-3 home loss to the Carolina Panthers, Quenneville yanked goalie Sergei Bobrovsky after the former Vezina Trophy winner allowed four first-period goals.
Bobrovsky signed a seven-year, $70 million contract during the offseason.
Overall, the Panthers are 1-2-0
“We have a lot of respect for the direction they’re going with the new coaching staff,” Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said this morning inside KeyBank Center. “You can already feel Joel’s handprint on the group. Just like our situation here, there’s a lot of newness and a lot of teaching going on, for sure.
“We have a lot of respect for the skill that’s in their group. There’s a lot of drive, a lot of speed. Their defense are extremely involved in the attack offensively. They come hard, so they’ll test our structure.”