Sabres game day: Goalie Aaron Dell recalled with Craig Anderson day to day

Radio: WGR 550

The Sabres recalled goalie Aaron Dell from the Rochester Americans ahead of a game Saturday night against Detroit in KeyBank Center.

Craig Anderson, the club's 40-year-old goalie, is considered "day to day," according to coach Don Granato, because of an upper-body injury. To open a roster spot, winger Brett Murray was loaned to the Amerks. Anderson isn't expected to miss more than a few days.

Granato wasn't ready to say following the morning skate Saturday if Dell or Dustin Tokarski will get the start in net against the Red Wings.

Dell, 32, had a .905 save percentage and 3.01 goals-against average in three appearances for the Amerks. He has appeared in 117 NHL games since 2016-17, recording a career .906 save percentage. His best season occurred in 2017-18 when he had a 15-5-4 record and .914 save percentage in 29 games for the San Jose Sharks. Dell signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with Buffalo in July.

Anderson is off to a strong start this season with a .920 save percentage and 4-2 record in six games for the Sabres. He appeared in only six games all of last season for Washington, between the abbreviated regular season and playoffs.

Tokarski stopped 33 of 37 shots on Thursday night in Seattle. He has a .924 save percentage in four games this season. 

Lineup: Victor Olofsson will miss a third consecutive game with a lower-body injury and did not participate in the morning skate. Casey Mittelstadt also remains out with a lower-body injury suffered during the season-opening win over Montreal last month. 

Olofsson is close to returning, Granato said, but the Sabres want to be cautious. Mittelstadt skated on his own while the team was on the West Coast. The next step for Mittelstadt is to return to practice, but the Sabres aren't sure when he'll be cleared to do so.

With Murray loaned to Rochester prior to the morning skate, the Sabres are expected to dress the same skaters as their 5-2 loss in Seattle on Thursday. Here's a look at the lines and pairings from the morning skate:

Sabres' lines/pairings at the morning skate are unchanged:Caggiula-Cozens-HinostrozaSkinner-Thompson-AsplundGirgensons-Eakin-OkposoBjork-Ruotsalainen-HaydenDahlin-ButcherBryson-MillerHagg-PysykWolanin rotating inDell and Tokarski are the goalies.

— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) November 6, 2021

Milestone: Sabres winger Zemgus Girgensons is expected to play in his 500th NHL game Saturday night. Girgensons skated a season-low 13:12 against Seattle. 

Standings watch: The Sabres sit fourth in the Atlantic Division, eight points behind first-place Florida. Detroit, meanwhile, is sixth in the division with 10 points, only one fewer than Buffalo.

The Sabres have lost three consecutive games, including back-to-back defeats in which they allowed five goals.