NEW YORK (AP) — Colten Ellis had never played at Madison Square Garden before, so the 25-year-old Buffalo Sabres goaltender got there a little early Thursday morning so he could look around “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
“It was unbelievable," Ellis said. "Just tried to kind of take it in all day and just enjoy every part of it.”
When the lights were bright at night, Ellis shined in his first NHL game action in roughly a month. He stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced to beat the New York Rangers 5-2 and give the Sabres 12 victories in their past 13 games.
“Made some huge saves,” said teammate Mattias Samuelsson, who scored. "He played unreal all game.”
Ellis had not played since getting concussed Dec. 9 against Edmonton. He was called upon by veteran coach Lindy Ruff and his staff after Alex Lyon got injured and an opportunity presented itself.
In net for just his ninth game in the league after Buffalo claimed him off waivers from St. Louis prior to the start of the season, Ellis shook off the rust early and was dialed in. But the heat was really on when he allowed a bad goal early in the third period to Vincent Trocheck.
“It’s one I definitely want back, but we were still up by one at that point, so you’ve just got to kind of find a way to get through it,” Ellis said. "I just tried to do whatever I could to not let in any more.”
Ellis succeeded, turning aside the final 12 shots he faced to improve to 5-3.
“A-plus game, for sure," Ruff said. “But we know when we put him in, he’s been ready to play. He gave us a great game. He worked hard to get back and be ready, and I thought did an excellent job.”
Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had split the goaltending duties over the past month, during which Ellis went to the rink every day focused on working on his game and avoiding complacency. But practice can only do so much.
“I was very excited to get back,” Ellis said.
His teammates were glad to get him back after admiring Ellis' work ethic even when he wasn't getting rewarded with starts.
“He’s a real competitor," winger Josh Doan said. "He battles with us every day, and he’ll be out there till the last guy’s off the ice. He’s a guy you know what you’re going to get out of him every night, and when he makes some big saves like that in the third period, it just continues to build the confidence that we already have in him. And he showed up big for us in a big game.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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