Colten Ellis made a triumphant return to the Sabres’ net Tuesday night, stopping all 23 shots he faced in a 2-0 win over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center.
Ellis had not played since leaving midway through the second period against the Florida Panthers on October 12. Several of his saves were spectacular, and he needed to be sharp: Yaroslav Askarov turned aside 37 of Buffalo’s 38 shots.
The Sabres opened the scoring early in the second period. A quick transition up the ice allowed Owen Zellweger to get a shot away from the top of the faceoff circle, beating Askarov and giving Buffalo a 1-0 lead.
That remained the score until Zach Benson sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:05 of the third period.
Buffalo continues its West Coast road trip Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
