EDMONTON — It was a dream come true for Eric Comrie, even if he downplayed it.
The 27-year-old goalie stood on his head in the Buffalo net, making 46 saves, as the Sabres fought their way past the Edmonton Oilers for a 4-2 victory on Tuesday.
It was the first time Comrie, whose older brother Mike played for the Oilers from 2000 to 2003, got to play in net in an NHL game in Edmonton and he made the most of it.
“It was great, but it’s just two points and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing against and what’s going on whether my family is in town,” said Comrie, who only has 30 NHL games to his credit. “ I’m just going out there with this group of guys and giving it all I have for this group, no matter where it is or when it is.
“Our D core did an awesome job of making sure everything was to the outside, everything was taken care of and props to them, they were awesome out there all night tonight.”
Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch and J.J. Peterka scored for the Sabres (2-1-0).
“It wasn’t pretty, but we found a way to win and that’s what this league is all about,” Dahlin said. “We just dug in and played solid in the third period and he kept us in the game. It was a really good team effort and we have a lot of guys that come in here and compete hard, so it’s really good for the future.”
Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for the Oilers (1-2-0) who have trailed by at least two goals in each of their three games this season.
“We don't want to be sitting at 1-2, but that being said, I don't think there's any need to panic,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid. “This group knows how important starts are — not only to games, but to the season — and we haven't had our best for the first three. But I would expect our best is coming here.”
The Sabres started the scoring four minutes into the opening period on a four-on-three advantage as Dahlin picked the corner on a wrist shot off the draw that beat Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, getting his first start of the season.
It only took the Oilers 23 seconds to get that goal back, however, as Leon Draisaitl made a perfect pass on an odd-man break to Nurse, who put it past Comrie.
Buffalo regained the lead just 46 seconds into the middle frame as Thompson danced around defenders and made a nice move at the net to slide the puck past Skinner.
They made it 3-1 five minutes into the second as Vinnie Hinostroza sprang Peterka for a breakaway and he put it through Skinner’s legs for his second of the season.
The Oilers peppered the Sabres' net with quality shots for the bulk of the third period, but were unable to get anything past Comrie until there was 1:33 left with their goalie pulled as McDavid made a nice little pass during a scramble in front to Nugent-Hopkins for the goal. McDavid tied Paul Coffey for fifth most assists in franchise history on the play.
The Oilers continued to press and had 23 shots in the third, but Tuch was able to muscle his way to a late empty-net goal to cancel thoughts of a comeback.
Edmonton outshot the Sabres 48-24 in the game.
NOTES
Dahlin joined Lindy Ruff as the second defenceman in Sabres franchise history to score in each of the first three games in a season. … The game featured four first overall draft picks in Dahlin (2018) and Owen Power (2021) for the Sabres and McDavid (2015) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011) for Edmonton. … Buffalo goalie Comrie played his first ever game in his hometown of Edmonton against the Oilers. His older brother Mike was a member of the Oilers from 2000 to 2003. … With Oilers goalie Skinner also hailing from Edmonton, it marked the first time that two Edmonton-born goalies faced each other in an NHL game in Edmonton. … The Oilers went with 11 forwards and seven defencemen for the game, inserting recent rookie call-up Markus Niemelainen on the blue line. … Sabre Hinostroza made his seasonal debut in place of forward Jack Quinn.
UP NEXT
Both teams are back in action on Thursday night.
The Sabres play the second game of a four-game Western trip in Calgary against the Flames, while the Oilers play host to the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth game of a season-opening six-game homestand.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2022.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
