Comrie makes career-high 46 saves in win over Oilers

EDMONTON - Eric Comrie used to attend games at Rexall Place growing up in Edmonton. He rattled off some of the contests that stood out in his memory Thursday morning, many of which featured his older brother Mike, a forward for the Oilers from 2000 to 2003.
"I went to pretty much every single game there was," he said.
The Oilers left Rexall Place in 2016 and Comrie left Edmonton much earlier, when - at age 10 - his parents retired and the family moved to California. But he still had plenty of supporters in attendance Thursday for his first regular-season game in his hometown.
They were treated to a classic. Comrie made a career-high 46 saves - including 22 during the third period - to backstop the Sabres to a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers inside Rogers Place.

Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, and JJ Peterka scored goals to build Buffalo's lead while Alex Tuch added an empty netter to end Edmonton's threat of a comeback.
But it was Comrie who kept the Oilers at bay early and served as a last line of defense late, as the star-studded Oilers swarmed the Buffalo zone for much of the final 20 minutes and threw everything they could toward the netminder in hopes of a scoring chance.
The Sabres' defensemen did their part keeping those shots to the outside and tying up sticks when Oilers' attackers tried to pounce on rebounds. Behind them, Comrie never wavered.
"They were throwing pucks in at bad angles and crashing the net, and he had to hold his ground while our defensemen cleared out or limit the second chance," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "And he held his ground."
Here's the breakdown of Game 3.

How it happened

PERIOD 1
Dahlin put the Sabres on the board with his third goal of the season, a hard wrist shot from the high slot scored five second into their first power play of the night.

The Oilers were quick to respond. Darnell Nurse finished a pass from Leon Draisaitl on an odd-man rush just 23 seconds after Dahlin's goal, evening the score at 1-1.
Comrie made 14 saves for the Sabres, who were outshot 15-6.
PERIOD 2
The Sabres took control during the middle period, outshooting the Oilers 12-9 while pulling ahead 3-1 on the strength of goals from Thompson and Peterka.
Thompson set the tone with his highlight-reel goal just 44 seconds into the period. He stole the puck from Draisaitl at the Edmonton blue line, carried it end-to-end, then toe-dragged around Nurse as he cut across the net before reversing course:

"Disgusting," Dahlin said when asked to describe the goal. "It's so good that he scored that goal now. He's gonna stay hot now for the rest of the season."
Peterka added to the lead on a breakaway, once again capitalizing on the Oilers' aggression.

"They like to fly the zone," Thompson said. "I think if we just got pucks behind them in their end, put it behind the goal line, make their D go all the way back to get it and try to keep possession down there behind the goal line it frustrates their forwards.
"… I think that's kind of something we just focused on, trying to frustrate their top guys there and forcing turnovers and we got our offense from there."
PERIOD 3
Comrie stopped Evan Bouchard from the high slot less than two minutes into the period, setting the tone for the remainder of the night.
He reached out his pad to rob Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at the back door near the midway point. With less than five minutes remaining, he stopped Connor McDavid from in close. The Oilers finally came within one when McDavid collected a loose puck from beneath a pile of bodies in front of the Buffalo net and fed Nugent-Hopkins for a goal with 1:33 remaining.
It was too late. Comrie shut the door thereafter and Tuch sealed the win with his empty netter.
Through it all, Granato said, the Sabres' remained confident in their plan to keep the Oilers to the outside and give Comrie shots he could see.
"The best part of it was we were still confident all the way through," Granato said. "The chatter on the bench and the focus and determination I thought was outstanding."

What we learned

1.Comrie deflected credit toward his teammates after his first win with the Sabres, complimenting their ability to clear lanes in front of him and prevent second chances.
Even on the subject of playing in his hometown, Comrie steered the conversation toward the bigger picture.
"It's just two points," he said. "It doesn't matter where we are, who we're playing against, what's going on. It doesn't matter if my family's in town or what. It's about going out there with this group of guys and just giving all I have for this group no matter where it is or when it is."
2. Asked about Comrie's demeanor, Dahlin and Thompson both said the goaltender carries himself with a calmness that spreads to the players in front of him.
"It's unreal," Dahlin said. "He's so calm and that makes us trust him so much and makes us calm, too. If he keeps playing like this, he's going to do big things."
Comrie said calm is his preferred state in net.
"I try to stay as calm as I can and just let the play come to me and just have a lot of fun," he said. "This is hockey. It's what I love doing. I just go out there and have a blast doing it."
3.Comrie came to Buffalo with a real opportunity for NHL ice time after years of shuffling back and forth from the AHL in Winnipeg. He has 79 saves through two starts and has given the Sabres a chance to win both times.
He was already looking forward to getting back on the ice after the game Thursday.
"It's just one game," he said. "I'm going to go get ready for practice tomorrow and go out there and just continue to get better."
4. Dahlin became the first defenseman in Sabres history to score a goal in each of the team's first three games of a season, according to Sabres PR.
5. Lindy Ruff scored in each of his first three games of the 1985-86 season, but those were Games Nos. 2, 3, and 4 for the Sabres. No other defensemen in Sabres history have scored in their first three games of a season.
6. Ilya Lyubushkin completed his last shift of the second period with 10:45 remaining. He returned for one shift in the third before exiting for the dressing room and did not return.
His abbreviated night featured a pair of loud hits - one on Draisaitl during an Edmonton power play and another in open ice on Dylan Holloway:

The latter hit earned a retaliation from Oilers forward Warren Foegele, which resulted in a double-minor against Foegele and sent the Sabres to the power play.
Granato did not have an update on Lyubushkin's status afterward.
"He played very well for us and we missed him in the third," Granato said.

Up next

The road trip continues in Calgary on Thursday. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the call on MSG and WGR 550 with coverage on MSG beginning at 8:30 p.m.
The puck drops at 9.