BUFFALO – Following a four-game break, goalie Colten Ellis looked sharp throughout Saturday’s 3-2 shootout victory in Minnesota, stopping 22 shots, including the last 14 he faced, as the Sabres ended the Wild’s seven-game winning streak.
Ellis, 25, received an early taste of Minnesota’s firepower, stopping superstar Kirill Kaprizov’s wraparound attempt barely a minute into the contest.
In overtime, the rookie calmly denied two shots from Brock Faber in close.
“I think that’s kind of what makes me me, so just because it’s OT I’m not going to change anything in my game,” Ellis told reporters in St. Paul following the game. “So the more comfortable I get just sticking to that. I think that’s what’s going to bring me success.”
Ellis, a waiver claim before the season, recently started three straight games and four of five contests before Sabres coach Lindy Ruff turned to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon. Ruff rides the hot hand, so Ellis will likely start Monday’s contest against the Winnipeg Jets at KeyBank Center.
In defeating the Wild, Ellis became the Sabres’ first goalie to reach the four-win mark this season.
“He gave us a solid game,” Ruff told reporters following Saturday’s game. “I thought once he settled in, there was probably three or four saves that were key saves inside the game.”
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After Friday’s 5-0 home loss to the New Jersey Devils, Ruff overhauled his lines against the Wild, most notably moving Tyson Kozak up alongside Zach Benson and Tage Thompson.
Ruff figured having played the day before and registered just one road win all season, the Sabres needed to change some things.
In shifting Kozak up, he let him share center duties with Thompson.
“We haven’t been winning on the road,” Ruff said. “We thought back-to-back games, try to balance them. The thoughts on some lines, try to get better in the faceoff dots, or put Kozy with Tommer, and they could take the left-handed and right-handed draws, and they could kind of split time at center ice.
“But try to balance the lineup in a back-to-back game and get more energy, and I thought it worked out.”
Rookie Noah Ostlund centered Josh Doan and Alex Tuch, while Josh Dunne pivoted Peyton Krebs and Beck Malenstyn, who scored the Sabres’ first goal.
Doan scored when Mats Zuccarello tried to glove his shot off the glass but dropped it into his net.
“I think we got rewarded for our break,” Ruff said. “We had a lot of good opportunities (that) didn’t go in. But by playing game the right way, we finally caught a break.”
Malenstyn scored when the puck deflected off him in front of the net.
“We got a great game out of the fourth line,” Ruff said. “Got good energy, got a goal out of them. I thought it was where on the road against a good team – a team that was on a roll – we played the game the right way all night.”
Ruff left the trio of center Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker and Jack Quinn intact.
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With a precious point at stake and the shootout tied at 2, Ruff utilized Ostlund in the fifth round of the shootout. Why throw a neophyte out there?
“We had kind of done some research on the reports from the minors, and what came back is they said, ‘He’s sick. He’s got some sick moves,’” Ruff said.
Ostlund, 21, rewarded Ruff’s faith by showcasing a nifty backhand to forehand move to beat Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson.
“It was a sick move,” Ruff said.
Ruff also said the Wild had “no intelligence” on Ostlund, who has played just 25 NHL games.
Notes: The Sabres begin a six-game road trip Wednesday after facing the Jets. After Monday, they don’t play at home again until Dec. 18. … With Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, the reigning winner of the Hart and Vezina trophies, out four to six weeks after undergoing knee surgery in late November, former Sabres netminder Eric Comrie has been handling most of the goaltending duties. … The Sabres had Sunday off.