Aaron Dell will get his third consecutive start in goal for the Buffalo Sabres on Monday afternoon against Detroit and could be looking at a big workload this week.
Coach Don Granato didn't discount the possibility of Dell also playing Tuesday in Ottawa because of the longer-than-normal gap between games, with Monday being a matinee and Tuesday being a night game. Granato said he will evaluate Dell's workload before deciding to go back to him in Ottawa or switching to Michael Houser. The Sabres have four games this week, also hosting Dallas on Thursday and Philadelphia on Saturday.
The Sabres goalie, who struggled in his first stint with the NHL club this season, exceled in his return from Rochester – and hit the highlight reel.
Dell had a 4.72 goals-against average and .872 save percentage in his first seven games with the Sabres before returning to Rochester. He posted his first win as a Sabre and his 50th in the NHL on Thursday in Nashville, and added 35 saves in Saturday's 4-0 loss in Detroit.
Granato said he felt confident in Dell after watching him play the previous week in Rochester, and the veteran gave the team what it needed in net, now that the club has lost four goalies at this point of the season.
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"We did a nice job helping him in Nashville, but he deserves a lot of credit, too. He was solid," Granato said. "He didn't make many mistakes. Very nice to see that, obviously, because of the situation we're in."
Back to back a bonus
The Sabres are 0-1-2 this year against Detroit, and a loss Monday would leave them winless against the Red Wings for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Buffalo had been 11-2-2 against Detroit the last four seasons.
"I think that's the best possibility we could have, getting back at them right away," center Tage Thompson said. "We have a little unfinished business with them after the way we played the other night. Now's the perfect time to respond."
"We need to be able to measure ourselves. We play a really good game in Nashville and we don't know how to replicate that," Granato said. "And that's the first thing you think of in your head, is that experience or not? When you have a chance to play the same opponent, you have the same gauge. They're not playing anybody in between. And so you know it's a true read."
Around the boards
• Defenseman Jacob Bryson didn't practice Sunday, and Granato said he will not play here Monday or Tuesday in Ottawa after suffering an upper-body injury in Saturday's game. Zemgus Girgensons (lower body) did not play Saturday and will also be out Monday.
• In case you missed it Saturday night, Jack Quinn notched his first professional hat trick with a three-goal performance in Rochester's 6-5 overtime loss to Belleville in Blue Cross Arena. The Sabres' No. 1 draft pick in 2020 had a four-point night, adding the primary assist on Michael Mersch's game-tying goal with four seconds left in regulation. Quinn had four goals and four assists in three games for Rochester after making his NHL debut with the Sabres on Tuesday against Tampa Bay. He has 16 goals and 34 points in 23 games for the Amerks this season.
Former Canisius College goalie Charles Williams made 29 saves in his Amerks debut after joining the club on a professional tryout offer Friday. It was his first AHL start since Nov. 17, 2018, with Ontario.
• Sunday was the 20th anniversary of the five-player trade between Carolina and Florida that allowed the Hurricanes to acquire Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams, who would go on to win a Stanley Cup with the Canes in 2006. Adams, fellow '06 alum Bret Hedican and Tomas Malec came from Florida in exchange for Sandis Ozolinsh and Byron Ritchie.
