Lalime gets sharp as next start nears
Patrick Lalime walked into the Buffalo Sabres’ dressing room feeling really good about the practice that just ended. That’s because it didn’t feel like practice.
“We had a lot of shots, a lot of tips, screens, a lot of things you don’t see in practice,” Lalime said Thursday. “Guys in front of the net, the battles, the scrambles. It’s nice to have that once in a while, just like a game situation.”
It’s a good thing Lalime remembers what games are like. He’s about to experience one for the first time in a while. The Sabres’ backup goaltender hasn’t played since Oct. 27, but he’ll be in the crease either tonight when Columbus visits HSBC Arena or Saturday when the Sabres go to Pittsburgh.
“He works hard at staying sharp,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “He’s going to be in one of these two games, and he’s done his best to stay ready. We’re giving him the extra work. He’s gone out before practice and gone through stuff with [goalie coach] Jimmy [Corsi], so we know he’s going to be there for us.”
Though Ruff wouldn’t say which game Lalime would play, tonight would be a decent bet. The Penguins are among the NHL’s elite teams at 9-4-2, and it would seem to make sense to have No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller ready for Saturday’s visit to last season’s Stanley Cup finalists.
Also, Lalime historically has been good against the Blue Jackets. He’s 7-3 in his career with a 2.64 goals-against average. Last season, with Chicago, Lalime went 2-1 with a 3.02 GAA and .886 save percentage.
What Lalime wasn’t great at last season was responding after being off for at least two weeks. In four such appearances, he went 1-2 with a 3.53 GAA and .867 save percentage. (His overall numbers were 2.82 and .897.)
It’s been 18 days since his last game. He’s hoping Ruff’s approach will help. Though the coach won’t tell anyone else who’s starting, he did give the goaltenders the schedule.
“I think it’s great if you can know a couple days in advance,” Lalime said. “You can kind of prepare yourself. Sometimes you do a little scouting and basically just work into game shape in your mind in practice.”
It would have been easy for Lalime to get antsy while awaiting his next game. The last one didn’t go well. The Sabres were outclassed by Ottawa in a 5-2 loss, and Lalime was under siege from the outset. Instead of letting it linger, he followed Ruff’s advice following the game: “Dump that in the trash can and move on.”
“You look at the game, you analyze it, and you look at the good and the bad, and you move on,” Lalime said. “You can’t live in the past.”
The Sabres will be trying for their second straight win. If they can generate chances like they did in Wednesday’s 4-3 victory over St. Louis, Buffalo’s goaltender could have an easy night. Ruff counted more than 20 scoring chances and said it was the most in several years.
“We had a lot of chances just to put them away,” Ruff said. “We missed empty nets, and we hit posts, and we hit crossbars. Some of those will go in.”
Lalime wants to make sure they go in the other end. Though it’s been awhile, he says he remembers what it takes to make saves. He’s eager to prove it.
“You just look where the puck is and just try to put your body in front,” he said. “The team’s playing well, and I just want to contribute and do my part.”
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