Ted Nolan liked what he has seen from young his young goalie Nathan Lieuwen. When Brendan Gallagher took a hearty baseball slide into Jhonas Enroth on Sunday night in Buffalo, Lieuwen made his impromptu NHL debut. Boy did he ever. Lieuwen made 10 saves on the 10 shots that he faced in the loss to Montreal and earned himself his first NHL start in Calgary on Tuesday night. Lieuwen was Buffalo's best player in Calgary. In 81 minutes played, Lieuwen has faced 36 shots and has allowed 3 goals against (.917 save %, and 2.22 GAA).
On Wednesday, Nolan said that he is pleased with the former Kootenay Ice star's initial performances in the Buffalo net.
“Nathan has got to be proud of himself the way he’s played. But to overload him real quick is unfair to him, so we’ll go to Hackett. He’s played really well down in the AHL so he deserves a chance,… said Nolan. “It’s all about the evaluation period going forward here, especially looking to the future to see who we’ve got and what we’ve got. Hackett came in with good credentials in the beginning so we’ll see what he has.…
Lieuwen spoke after practice in Edmonton on Wednesday.
Thanks, Sabres.com
I like Nolan's approach. No point in burning out the 22 year old Lieuwen in his first week on the job in the NHL. The Sabres and Oilers are the 30th and 29th ranked teams respectively in the NHL. Why not take a look at all of the depth while there are games remaining in the season. Better to know now what you have in terms of depth rather than waiting until prospect camp or training camp? The Sabres will work Neuvirth back in to the mix once he's healthy enough to resume game action.
Nolan will start Matt Hackett on Thursday night in Edmonton. Hackett has NHL experience, playing 13 games with the Minnesota Wild. He was a key piece to the Jason Pominville last season. Hackett has struggled to find consistency in the Amerks net this season posting a 13-17-2 record in 33 games (.898 save %, 3.07 GAA).
Thanks, Sabres.com
Jhonas Enroth's leg injury will keep him of the ice for two weeks or more. I like the idea of playing Lieuwen and Hackett along with Neuvirth to see if the cream rises to the top.
The Sabres have 13 games remaining in the regular season against the Oilers, Canucks, Predators, Canadiens, Lightning, Devils, Blues, Red Wings (twice), Flyers, Rangers, Bruins, and Islanders.
The Sabres enter Thursday night's game in Edmonton with 46 points, 13 points below the Oilers.
Aaron Ekblad and Sam Reinhart are the two prizes at the end of this goalie tryout.