Sabres’ goaltending woes continue to drive slow start

Buffalo Sabres’ fans were witness to another difficult loss Wednesday night as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the home team 8-3. Nikita Kucherov recorded a hat trick and Brandon Hagel scored two goals of his own.

Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gave up five goals on 14 shots, while backup netminder Colten Ellis, who took over the crease less than two minutes into the third period, allowed three goals on just eight shots.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discuss Buffalo’s goaltending woes and what the future holds for a team looking to earn another playoff berth this spring.

Tyler Yaremchuk: UPL gets the start and gets yanked early in the third period after giving up five goals on 14 shots. Ellis comes in cold early in the third period … if you’re going to pull UPL, do it after the second period, don’t just do it one minute into the third period.

Carter Hutton: It’s a tough spot to be in, but if you’re Ellis, this is what you have to do. When you have a chance to go in, you have to find a way to stop the bleeding. It’s a tough spot, but when you aren’t the guy, you aren’t the guy.

In Buffalo, there’s probably a lot of concern with how this team is going. After you break that 14-year playoff drought, and now Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram are gone, you’re wondering what is this team? Are we back in the mix? It’s a tough Atlantic Division.

Now, Connor Hellebuyck’s name has swirled around Buffalo since the summer, and all of a sudden, you see him be undefeated for the New Jersey Devils and you’re watching your goalies struggle to make saves.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…