Surprised by Colten Ellis’ shutout? His Sabres teammates aren’t

When the Buffalo Sabres bring up their slogan, “Everyone ropes, everyone rides,” they mean everyone.

Colten Ellis hadn’t started a game since Feb. 3, spending his nights backing up Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen or Alex Lyon as they led the Sabres to a playoff berth. With Lyon injured and Luukkonen having played Wednesday, Ellis, who made a relief appearance last weekend, finally got the starting nod again Thursday.

The rookie goaltender’s response? A 37-save shutout to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-0, at KeyBank Center. That, plus Montreal’s beating Tampa Bay, has Buffalo in the driver’s seat for an Atlantic Division title.

“It was awesome, start to finish,” Ellis said.

“It just shows how deep of a team we are,” added Josh Doan, who did his part with two goals. “We’ve got goalies that you haven’t seen in a while putting up shutouts on 37 saves. … It’s a little bit of a secret how good he can be, and I think tonight, the world got to see what Colten Ellis can do.”

Though idle most nights, the 25-year-old netminder has used his days well. His teammates have raved about his showing up early each morning, spending extra time taking shots after practice, grinding in the gym and supporting the guys from the bench and in the locker room. In Doan’s words, “He works his nuts off.”

For Ellis, who was headed for a fourth AHL season in Springfield before the Sabres claimed him off waivers in October, a roster spot at this level is a privilege, playing time or not, and his work ethic backs that up.

“Playing in the NHL, I’m super happy to be in this situation, and I don’t take it for granted one day,” said Ellis, a former third-round pick. “I think it’s just coming back to that every day and having that perspective, coming in, working and trying to get better.”

His night got especially busy during the second period, when Buffalo led 1-0 and Columbus pressured hard to tie it. Ellis stopped all 14 Blue Jackets shots in the frame, surviving a series of scrambles near his crease with tired Sabres defenders stuck on the ice. Things look chaotic at times with No. 92 in net, but the results speak volumes.

“He's a worker, he's battling for pucks and he wants to win, and that shows out there,” said Peyton Krebs, who scored early to put the Sabres ahead.

Buffalo turned a nailbiter into a laugher in the third period. Doan opened the floodgates with a neutral-zone steal and a wrister that beat Columbus goalie Jet Greaves. Minutes later, Jack Quinn and Doan (again) added insurance, then Rasmus Dahlin ended it with an empty netter.

Even with the game decided, the Sabres made sure to close out their goalie’s first career shutout, blocking five shots after the fourth goal as part of a 21-block night. And Ellis made some of his best stops of the outing in those final minutes, namely a point-blank one on Sean Monahan uncovered in front.

“Part of the culture. The players understood how well this kid played [behind] them, they wanted to repay that with making sure pucks weren’t going to get to the net,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “He still had to make one unbelievable backside save.”

Per Natural Stat Trick, Ellis finished the night with 10 high-danger saves and 3.56 goals saved above expected.

And with the Lightning losing in regulation, the math for Buffalo is now simple: Win the final two regular season games, win the division – not that those stakes seemed to faze the rookie goalie.

“It’s awesome. It’s no secret how tight the standings are,” Ellis said. “To get a win tonight, it’s special for us and for our group.”

Here’s more from the win.

Doan hits 25

Doan, who set a goal last summer to score 20-25 within the next few seasons, reached 25 with Thursday’s two-goal performance. He’s up 51 points in his first season in Buffalo, and he leads the team with five multi-goal games.

By the day, the 24-year-old winger’s seven year contract extension – $6.95 million AAV, signed in January – is looking like more of a bargain.

“What we saw is the reason we got him signed: just the fact that I think he’s got even more upside,” Ruff said. “… I think he’s following in his dad’s footsteps when it comes to the way he competes and how hard he works in games. There’s not many days this guy has a bad day. He’s just a great kid to be around.”

Doan is a high-energy player, his first goal Thursday being a great example, and that comes easily for him when KeyBank Center is sold out and rocking like it’s been lately.

“At the end of the day, I just put my head down and work for them,” Doan said of the fans. “They’re the ones showing up right now for us, and we’ve got to show up on the ice for them.”

More numbers

• Quinn continued a career year with his 20th goal, burying a great cross-slot feed on the rush from Logan Stanley.
• Stanley, meanwhile, finished plus-two and notched his third and fourth assists as a Sabre.
• Dahlin is up to 19 goals and 72 points, both one shy of his career highs from 2022-23.
• The Sabres will finish the season an impressive 9-1-3 in the second game of back to backs.

Postgame sound

Up next

The Sabres have a rare three-day gap between games, then visit the Chicago Blackhawks for an 8:30 p.m. EDT matchup on Monday. MSG’s pregame coverage starts at 8.

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