Eric Comrie is accustomed to waiting.
As the backup to one-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg, Comrie had an average of 13 days between his 19 starts for the Jets last season. There was a 50-day span from Dec. 10 to Jan. 29 when Hellebuyck played 13 consecutive games and Comrie sat.
In addition to spending more time on the ice before and after practice, Comrie would watch video of Hellebuyck’s starts and, along with Winnipeg goalie coach Wade Flaherty, the trio would dissect specific situations within those games. Anything to stay ready.
“I like to think of myself as a student of the game,” said Comrie, who, at 27, has been in goal for 28 career NHL games. “I like to think about the game, I watch the game of hockey. So, you watch different guys and you can kind of say, ‘OK, this is what this guy does well here. This is what Connor does well here, this is what (Craig Anderson) does well here.’ ”
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So, Comrie knows how to navigate the challenge of the eight-day break between his final exhibition game and his first regular-season appearance with the Sabres, which is expected to occur Saturday when Buffalo hosts the Florida Panthers in KeyBank Center at 1 p.m.
His role in Buffalo will be far different from the one he left in Winnipeg. Though Anderson started the Sabres’ season opener and will handle key games throughout the season, Comrie is expected to handle the bulk of the workload after joining the club on a two-year contract in July.
Comrie hasn’t been able to properly showcase his talent in a Sabres uniform. Per his request, both of Comrie’s preseason games occurred on the road with Buffalo using a prospect-laden lineup against a more experienced group, most notably the exhibition finale in Pittsburgh when the Penguins’ star-studded lineup scored seven goals on 27 shots.
There were remarkable saves for Comrie in both starts, particularly in Columbus when he stymied several odd-man rushes to keep the score within reach for a group of prospects who appeared overwhelmed by the Blue Jackets’ fast-paced attack. But Comrie was thrown into two chaotic situations that would wreck the confidence of less experienced goalies. Comrie, though, played 207 games in the American Hockey League after his selection in the 2013 draft, and he knows how to prepare.
“I think it’s just best to play those games and, once again, I’ll play no matter what the circumstance is,” he said. “I’m just excited to get out there and get on the ice. For myself, playing those road games, sometimes they’re better because you get better competition.”
This is Comrie’s first opportunity to show he’s ready to seize a starting role in the NHL. Last season was his first extended stay on the Jets’ roster, and he delivered an impressive .920 save percentage and 16-10-5 record. After waiting 50 days for his turn in the crease, Comrie won five starts in a row. He’s revered by past coaches and teammates for his work ethic and appetite to improve.
Comrie is typically the first Sabre on the ice for practices and morning skates, and he’s happy to stay out as long as possible to face more shots, including Wednesday afternoon when a group of young players turned their skill work into a competition.
“His reputation preceded himself in a very, very good way,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “When we did sign him, I had a player that I coached on another NHL team call and another coach of an NHL team call and tell me what a great person and what a great worker he is.”
Comrie’s first start in a Sabres uniform won’t be the only storyline to watch when the Panthers are in town Saturday.
Sticking with lines
As expected, there were no changes to the forward lines and defense pairs at practice Friday. Most of the Sabres’ players struggled to get into a rhythm during the season-opening 4-1 win over Ottawa. Their top line of Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson and Victor Olofsson combined for only seven shot attempts at 5-on-5, and they allowed 13.
Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power committed uncharacteristic turnovers, though both helped the Sabres win with some impressive plays. First-game jitters are common, especially for young players. Forwards and defensemen need time to get back into a rhythm. But Granato has formed some interesting combinations that will be able to develop chemistry in the coming days.
Buffalo’s most effective line Thursday was Peyton Krebs, Dylan Cozens and rookie JJ Peterka. The group combined for a goal and two assists. The Sabres had 64.71% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when that line was on the ice.
Special teams
The Sabres’ power play struggled with turnovers and didn't earn enough second-chance opportunities while going 0-for-4 against the Senators, whose goalie, Anders Forsberg, had to make only three saves when shorthanded. It’s common for this area of special teams to take more time to develop because the high-end forwards and defensemen aren't on the ice together in exhibition games. On Saturday, Buffalo will face a Florida penalty kill that ranked ninth in the NHL last season.
The Sabres’ penalty kill is also an interesting area to monitor. Thirteen different players saw at least one minute of shorthanded ice time Thursday when Buffalo committed four penalties, including two within 1:12 of each other in the second period. While most coaches around the NHL establish two penalty-killing units with the same four forwards and four defensemen, Granato wants to see which young players will thrive in that role and can contribute offensively. Eventually, Granato wants to establish two consistent groups.
“I would love to have the penalty kill be a scoring threat to score,” he added. “You saw last night we gave up scoring chances on our power play. Typically, power plays in the NHL, you’ve got one defenseman out there and you’ve got teams overextending themselves defensively, and you can take advantage of that opportunity to create some offense here and there.”
Early risers
Cozens, Anderson, defenseman Jacob Bryson and winger Peterka were among the Sabres’ standouts in game one. Cozens performed like a “seasoned NHL vet,” Peterka scored his first career goal and Bryson stabilized the third defense pair next to Ilya Lyubushkin.
The Sabres need more players contributing against the 2021-22 Presidents’ Trophy winners. The Panthers (1-0) have a new coach and traded two cornerstone players to acquire Matthew Tkachuk, but they still have Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad and former Sabre Sam Reinhart.
"When you look at our game last night, we had a lot of guys who hadn’t played in 10 days so they felt a little off by virtue of that as well," Granato said. "It’s nice to get a game in the next, whatever, 48 hours or less and there’s things we talked [about] and then showed on video that really we need to do. We need to focus on us."
