Comrie makes 24 saves in season debut to lead Sabres to victory

Eric Comrie thought back Saturday morning to a piece of advice he received from former NHL goaltender Fred Brathwaite during the World Junior Championship in 2015.

"If you’re ever worried about, nervous about anything, just go back to playing pond hockey as a kid outside and just having fun and enjoying that,” Comrie told reporters in the Sabres’ dressing room, hours before his season debut against the New York Islanders.

“That’s why you play the game, because you enjoy it.”

Comrie put those words into practice against the Islanders. He made 24 saves and carried a shutout late into the third period of the Sabres’ 3-1 victory inside KeyBank Center, then spoke about how much fun he had doing it.

“Our guys were just working as hard as they could,” he said. “It was just fun to be a part of that. … I can’t say it enough, I’m proud to be a part of this group.”

The Sabres turned in a dominant performance in response to their loss to Calgary on Thursday, a game that saw inconsistencies mount and lead to goals against. They outshot the Islanders 43-25 and stayed committed defensively until their offense translated to goals.

Jeff Skinner and Mattias Samuelsson finally broke through with goals in the final four minutes of the second period, both of which were byproducts of dynamic plays from Casey Mittelstadt. Dylan Cozens added a power-play goal in the third.

Their goaltender, meanwhile, remained steady throughout. Sabres coach Don Granato likened the game Saturday to Comrie’s career, much of which to this point has been spent as a backup.

“You’ve got to be ready when you’re called upon and there’s a lot of intervals where you’re not called upon, and that was tonight’s game,” Granato said. “He had to make a few saves and he made some saves where if you watched them on video, they were a lot more difficult than they appeared.”

Comrie turned away a point-blank attempt from Brock Nelson when the Islanders threatened to open the scoring on the power play during the first period. He made a sequence of saves minutes before Skinner put the Sabres on the board late in the second.

It was a strong start for the 28-year-old, who has had to work diligently throughout his career to stay ready for opportunities. His final season in Winnipeg, when he posted a .920 save percentage in 19 games as backup to a Vezina Trophy winner in Connor Hellebuyck, was a testament to that ability.

Comrie is one of three goaltenders on the Sabres roster this season, along with Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Levi started the first four games but rested Saturday with soreness in his lower body.

Comrie remained his fun-loving, hard-working self in the meantime.

“He comes in the locker room, he’s smiling ear-to-ear every day,” Mittelstadt said. “He’s talking pretty much to the point of being annoying sometimes. But, no, he’s the best, great. One of the best guys I’ve ever played with, honestly. Such a good attitude.”

Here’s more from the Sabres’ second win of the season.

1. Granato pointed to the players’ willingness to drive to the net as a difference from prior games, pointing to how Victor Olofsson and JJ Peterka were stationed in the blue paint on Buffalo’s first two goals, respectively.

“We were able to do the work that was needed to get to our identity, and that was as big as the win for me,” Granato said.

2. Mittelstadt stripped the puck away from Islanders forward Casey Cizikas in the New York zone to initiate the sequence that led to Skinner’s goal with 3:23 remaining in the second period.

After gaining possession along the left half wall, Mittelstadt spun toward the slot and carried the puck into traffic. With Olofsson diverting attention to the top of the crease, Mittelstadt dished a pass to his right to set up the Skinner one-timer.

3. The Sabres struck again less than three minutes later. This time, Mittelstadt drove the puck below the goal line and maintained possession long enough to find Samuelsson as the trailing man in the slot.

“Mittsy drove pretty much to the blue paint there and [brought] them all in and opens up the top for us and gives us room to make plays and stuff,” Samuelsson said. “I think throughout the game, putting it behind them, making them turn had something to do with it, and it was a lot for them to handle.”

4. Rasmus Dahlin carried the puck down low and passed through the paint to set up Cozens’ goal in the third period. The assist extended Dahlin’s point streak to four games.

5. The Sabres changed up their forward lines for the game, with Mittelstadt moving between Skinner and Alex Tuch while Tage Thompson centered Cozens and Jordan Greenway. Those trios resembled the look the team utilized down the stretch to end last season.

The moves paid off. In addition to the two goals created by Mittelstadt, the Sabres earned a 19-6 advantage in shot attempts with Thompson’s line on the ice at 5-on-5.

“I think that’s one of the beauties of our team, wherever you’re going to play you’re going to play with good players,” Mittelstadt said. “I thought, obviously, Donny pulled the right strings.”

Up next

The homestand concludes Monday against the Montreal Canadiens. Secure your seats here.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7 on MSG and WGR 550.