The Athletic: What we learned from Sabres’ preseason opener: Georgiev steady, Mrtka’s debut and more
The Sabres shut out the Blue Jackets to start the preseason, but impressive games from several new names and prospects drew eyes.
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The Buffalo Sabres are 2 1/2 weeks away from opening the regular season against the New York Rangers, and Lindy Ruff doesn’t know for sure who his starting goalie will be.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was supposed to be that guy, but the Sabres’ presumed No. 1 in net hasn’t been able to practice because of a lower-body injury. That has left Alex Lyon and Alexandar Georgiev, two newcomers, as the goalies splitting reps with the NHL group. On Monday, Georgiev started the Sabres’ preseason opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“It’s an opportunity for him to say, ‘I can be a goaltender that can really help you guys out,’” Ruff said before the game. “Every opportunity he gets is a statement that he’s going to make to us.”
Georgiev’s first statement came by stopping all 16 shots he faced in the two periods he played during Buffalo’s 4-0 win. On Saturday during an intrasquad scrimmage, he also stopped every shot he faced. It has been a steady start for the 29-year-old, who didn’t sign with Buffalo until a week before camp.
Georgiev said this week the reason he signed in Buffalo was a simple one: opportunity. Early on in training camp, he’s getting it. After finishing last season with an .875 save percentage and a 3.71 goals-against average, Georgiev is eager to show he’s closer to the goalie who had a .919 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against average for the Colorado Avalanche in 2022-23.
“Get back to where I’m one of the better goalies in the league, for sure,” Georgiev said. “I played a lot of games and got to an All-Star (Game). I feel this is my level, and I want to get back to that and be a big part of getting to the playoffs here. This is huge for this team.”
Here’s what else we learned from the preseason opener:
1. Bowen Byram was the subject of trade rumors early in the summer but ended up signing a two-year contract extension to remain with Buffalo. Byram didn’t sweat the situation too much over the summer.
“I feel like I’ve already gone through it one time, so I kind of know how it goes,” Byram said. “It seems to be whenever you’re a guy with an expiring contract, there’s always rumors and whatever going around. That’s just the profession we’re in, right? Whether it’s your team trying to get better or another team trying to make their team better, there’s always going to be rumors floating around, but I was happy to get my deal done here and excited to come back and have a strong year, play hard and prove myself once again.”
Byram’s two-year deal gives him a chance to prove himself before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2027. That could be quite the opportunity with a rising cap. He has played mostly on a pair with Rasmus Dahlin during training camp, but he has also been part of Buffalo’s second power-play unit. In the preseason opener, Byram scored the first goal of the game and showed off the offensive skill that makes him an intriguing player.
2. The pairing of Michael Kesselring and Owen Power got off to a strong start Monday. The Sabres had more than 80 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five when those two were on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. Power wore an “A” as one of three alternate captains along with Byram and Peyton Krebs. Kesselring and Power each had an assist on Buffalo’s second goal, showing some chemistry on a blue-line passing play.
3. Radim Mrtka, Buffalo’s 2025 first-round pick, got to play on a pair with Byram in his first NHL preseason game, and he fit right in with one of Buffalo’s best defensemen. On the first goal of the game, it was Mrtka who slid the puck over to Byram for the primary assist. Late in the game, Mrtka mixed it up after the whistle by clearing the front of the net. He had plenty of quickness to keep up in this preseason game. This was a good introduction to the league for Mrtka.
4. Justin Danforth’s impact showed up on Buffalo’s second goal. He crashed the wall on the forecheck and disrupted a breakout to keep the puck in the offensive zone. That started a play that ended with a Beck Malenstyn goal at the net front. Malenstyn grabbed a rebound after Power got a shot on net from the point. Danforth’s forechecking will be one of his biggest assets.
5. Konsta Helenius scored a late goal on the rush. He made a nifty move to toe drag and create just enough time and space to get a quick shot off and beat the goalie glove-side. Helenius also led the Sabres with seven hits and took four hits. He’s constantly involved on the forecheck.
6. The Sabres’ top line was Jiri Kulich centering Jack Quinn and Josh Doan. That group generated only three scoring chances at five-on-five while playing against the Blue Jackets’ top line. They did make up for a quiet night with an empty net goal. Kulich won a race for the puck and set up Quinn for the goal.
7. Josh Dunne, who got a late-season call-up to the NHL last season, led the Sabres with seven scoring chances and also got into a fight. He won the fight handily, too. That’s an eventful night for a player fighting to get noticed by the NHL coaching staff. Dunne played on a line with Mason Geertsen and Tyson Kozak, and the Sabres had a 13-4 advantage in scoring chances when that group was on the ice.
