The Buffalo Sabres opened their preseason with a 4-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Monday. Alexandar Georgiev, who recently joined the team on a one-year contract after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen suffered an injury, made 16 saves in two periods to secure the shutout.
The lineup for Buffalo included both veteran players and new faces such as Justin Danforth, Josh Doan, Michael Kesselring, and first-round draft pick Radim Mrtka. All three newcomers—Kesselring, Mrtka, and Doan—recorded assists during the game.
Goals for the Sabres were scored by Bowen Byram, Beck Malenstyn, Jack Quinn, and Konsta Helenius. The scoring began in the second period when Byram scored with assists from Mrtka and Tyson Kozak. Malenstyn added another goal later in the period with help from Owen Power and Kesselring. In the third period, Quinn scored with assists from Jiri Kulich and Doan before Helenius capped off the night with a goal assisted by Anton Wahlberg and Vsevolod Komarov.
Georgiev expressed his determination to regain top form after a challenging previous season. “I want to get back to where I’m one of the better goalies in the league, for sure,” Georgiev said Monday morning. “I’ve played a lot of games, got to an All-Star (Game) – this is my level and I want to get back to that and be a big part of getting to the playoffs here.”
Devon Levi entered as planned for the third period and stopped all six shots he faced. Levi is expected to play again in Buffalo’s home preseason game against Columbus on Tuesday.
Buffalo will host its first home preseason game on Tuesday evening. The game will be streamed live on Sabres.com starting at 7 p.m.
