Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato made it abundantly clear after Sunday’s scrimmage where his goalies are on the depth chart.
“As far as a goalie battle, we have two guys [Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell] that clearly are veteran guys and it’s pretty simple, they’ve got the first opportunity because they have the better track record at this level," Granato said on Sunday.
“We’ll be watching those guys. They should play, because their résumé says they’re the guys that can handle this. 'UPL' [Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen] absolutely has shown maturity and improvement. He’s elevated his self-expectation and it’s something we’ve seen in practice. But I will state the obvious - you’ve got Anderson and Dell, and if it started tomorrow, those two guys would be one and two.”
The Blue and Gold scrimmage was two periods with each goaltender getting one period of action. The only goal scored at 5-on-5 was on Luukkonen after a turnover left Ryan MacInnis alone with him.
Anderson and Dell were signed this past offseason to one-year deals for the veteran league minimum. They come in to replace Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton, who both left and signed elsewhere in free agency.
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Here is the résumé of the three goalies Granato spoke about:
- Anderson: 291-252-69 career record, 2.84 goals-against average, .913 save percentage
- Dell: 49-39-12 career record, 2.83 goals-against average, .906 save percentage
- Luukkonen: 1-3-0 career record, 3.87 goals-against average, .906 save percentage
Last season, Anderson signed with the Washington Capitals after spending nine-and-a-half seasons with the Ottawa Senators. He was the Caps' taxi squad goalie, and only played four regular season games and three playoff games.
Anderson learned last year how to get acclimated with new teammates. He’s doing it again this year in Buffalo.
“You stay to yourself a little bit," Anderson said following Sunday's scrimmage. "You do your own thing and see which avenue is best, and right now it’s just coming in and doing my routine that works for me until I get the handle on the room. Over due time, that comes.”
Unlike last season in Washington, the Sabres signed Anderson to play consistently in the regular season. He knows not to take anything for granted at the NHL level.
“The mindset is you earn your ice-time, and I think that starts with practice habits, off-ice habits, having a good routine," Anderson said. "Last year, I knew the role, to come in and support [Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek], and be ready when called upon. It’s no different here. You come in, you do the work and if you have success, you’re going to earn your ice-time and play more. If another guy does it, my job is to be happy for him and to help him thrive and help the team.”
When it comes to Anderson, Dell and Luukkonen, there’s a pecking order on the goaltending depth chart, but it’s not in ink just yet.
“Everyone needs to come in with an open mind and say, ‘I’m going to put my best foot forward here and make the job for the staff difficult,’” Anderson said. “There’s two ways to do it: either you all play well or you all play poorly, and hopefully we’ll all play well and that’s a good problem to have from a coaching standpoint, because you know you have a quality start.”
Before practice on Monday, the Sabres sent Josh Bloom (Saginaw Spirit - OHL), Viljami Marjala (Quebec Remparts - QMJHL) and Olivier Nadeau (Shawinigan Cataractes - QMJHL) back to their respective junior teams.
Here's a look at how Monday's lines were constructed:
SESSION I:
Forwards:
Skinner - Mittelstadt - Olofsson
Caggiula - Asplund - Thompson
Warren - Eakin - Okposo
(Scarfo) Pekar - Malone - Franco
Defense:
Dahlin - Jokiharju
Teves - Pysyk
Cairns - Boka
Hagg - Miller
SESSION II:
Forwards:
Peterka - Cozens - Quinn
Murray - Ruotsalainen - Hayden
Bjork - Girgensons - Hinostroza
Mersch - MacInnis - Weissbach
Defense:
Butcher - Prow
Bryson - Laaksonen
Davidson - Fitzgerald
Tischke - Eliot
Mattias Samuelsson, Brandon Biro and Jimmy Schuldt are all still out of action due to injury.
The Sabres play their first preseason game of 2021 on Tuesday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.