Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres started the preseason 3-1-0, but had most of their NHL lineup playing against pretty much an AHL squad of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, and lost 5-3.
Buffalo looked like a team that was just trying to get the preseason over with and jump into the regular season.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made his first start of the preseason on Wednesday. Backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev said after the game the plan was for Luukkonen to play the first two periods, and then he'd come in for the third. However, Luukkonen had to leave after 20 minutes, stopping 11-of-12 shots faced.
"'UPL' felt good getting into the game, and after he made a couple of saves, he just didn’t feel quite right. So we took him out as a precaution, and we’ll see where he’s at tomorrow. We really didn’t want to risk anything," said head coach Lindy Ruff following the loss.
In addition, defenseman Michael Kesselring went to the locker room right before the second period ended and never returned.
"He’s had an aggravation that flared up, and we’ll see where he’s at tomorrow too. He’s day-to-day, it’s nothing serious. It’s something he’s been dealing with the whole camp," Ruff added of his right-shot defenseman.
Buffalo now has four of their six defensemen out injured. Kesselring joins Bo Byram, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson on the sideline. Ruff isn’t overly concerned about the defensive injuries, and thinks they’re going to be OK come the start of the regular season.
"I feel Byram’s ready to come back in, whether we play him or not. I think Power is really close to coming back in after a rehab skate. We don’t know where Kesselring will be at, but I feel pretty confident we’re going to probably have them all back," Ruff said.
Josh Norris had a pair of goals to give him three goals and two assists for five points in two preseason games.
With Kesselring out, Rasmus Dahlin played 27:07 and had a highlight reel power play goal in the third period.
I haven’t really liked what I’ve seen from Georgiev in his first three games. He hasn’t been the same goalie since he left the New York Rangers.
In three preseason games, he’s played 140 minutes, is 0-2-0 with a 3.43 goals-against average and an .884 save percentage. He allowed five goals in Detroit and three more on Wednesday.
Buffalo has one more preseason game Friday in Pittsburgh, when they’ll likely face the real Penguins lineup with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
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