The Buffalo Sabres announced Saturday morning that they have recalled goaltender Aaron Dell from the Rochester Americans of the AHL ahead of their game this afternoon at home against the New York Islanders. According to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, goaltender Craig Anderson had left practice early on Friday and is listed as day-to-day, necessitating the move for Buffalo.
The Sabres had been utilizing a tandem of Anderson and Dustin Tokarski in net, which Dell will now join. Some might wonder why Buffalo would choose to recall the veteran Dell over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, however it is worth noting that Luukkonen started in net for Rochester last night, his fifth straight start for the club. Even if Dell does not play today (or if Luukkonen had not played today), it might make sense to give the younger goaltender a rest as opposed to asking him to travel from Utica, where Rochester played last night, back to Rochester, then to Buffalo ahead of a 12:30 pm puck drop.
For his part, Dell has made a career as a serviceable backup in net. This season, he has split time between Buffalo and Rochester. In 10 games with Buffalo, Dell has a 4.03 GAA and .893 save-percentage, but a 3.02 GAA and .907 save-percentage in the AHL.
Horrible keeper
There is only 3 games left. He is just there in case Tokarski gets injured.
Ermmm … Utica to Rochester to Buffalo is not precisely a West Coast trip. It’s a bing-bang-boom three hour drive on the New York State Thruway. Hell, you can even take the train directly from Utica to Buffalo, if you want to lean back and snooze.
just let UPL play