With two preseason games – and two wins – against the Columbus Blue Jackets now in the books, the Buffalo Sabres’ goaltending situation has become even more interesting. If you’ll recall, previously presumed starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been sidelined for a week with a day-to-day lower body injury that has precluded him from taking part in any preseason activities.
The two Alexes (Georgiev and Lyon) have stepped up and put together some stellar performances in his absence, with Georgiev saving all 22 shots in his two periods of game action and Lyon turning away 13 of 14 through 40 minutes in Tuesday night’s tilt. It raises the question: would the Sabres carry three goaltenders to start the season?
Carrying three goalies on a 23-man roster is, of course, less than ideal. It means that the goalies can’t get into a good rhythm due to a lack of playing time and the team would have to waive or assign a forward or defenseman to Rochester to make room for that extra goalie. Here’s the thing, though: the Sabres only have 15 days and four preseason games left before the real hockey starts against the New York Rangers on October 9th. Is that enough time to get Luukkonen back in a rhythm and ready to roll?
The Sabres absolutely, positively cannot afford a slow start out of the gate this year. It can’t happen. They don’t have the luxury of riding out some up-and-down performances from Luukkonen if he’s rusty to start the season, but if Lyon and Georgiev look sharp (and they do), then the Sabres should at least consider dressing those two on game days and let Luukkonen take the time he needs to fully get comfortable.
There’s still no real indication as to the severity or duration of UPL’s timeline despite an update from Lindy Ruff late last week who said that the goaltender was improving but still not practicing.
The other aspect of this scenario to consider is that both Lyon and Georgiev would have to clear waivers before being assigned to Rochester which is not assured by any means. Although Lyon probably might clear waivers due to his two-year, $1.5 million per season cap hit, Georgiev could be a tough one to sneak through if another NHL club has a goaltender injury this preseason. Georgiev’s name still has enough juice and brand recognition for a team to take a free flyer on an $875k goalie.
Perhaps this is all premature and UPL will start practicing and playing in the next few days. It’s going to get harder to avoid this possibility the longer this injury situation stretches out, though.
Now let’s get to some other assorted thoughts from the first two preason games:
The team looks to have quality NHL/AHL tweener depth in noted large humans Mason Geertson (6’4” 231) and Josh Dunne (6’4” 208). Dunne had a good playoff run with the Amerks last year when he netted 7 points in 8 games. Geertson looks to be a Lindy guy due to their connection in New Jersey in the recent past, and while Geertson is sometimes listed as a defenseman, it’s more of the Nathan Paetsch variety of player where he’s probably just a grinding 4th line forward at the NHL level. It’s understandable that fans would rather see Isak Rosen get a call up, but if you’re just looking for a player to grind with Beck Malenstyn and Jordan Greenway, these two could be an option.Filed under the column of “things you love to see,” Josh Norris went 78% on the faceoff dot last night. Taking draws has been something of a sore spot on this team as the team really doesn’t have a faceoff ace. Ryan Mcleod also posted 58% win rate and Kozak won 80% of his draws. Good stuff.Zach Benson and Tage Thompson are showing good chemistry early on here. Benson had a beauty of a backhand, no-look pass from behind the net to set up Thompson last night. Benson’s ability to take a step offensively this season is a necessity if the Sabres are to make the playoffs.In a different year, we might be talking about Radim Mrtka as a candidate to make the Sabres roster this season. The 18-year-old, 6’6” right-shot defenseman logged over 20 minutes of ice time during the first preseason game and looked terrific doing it. There’s no room at the inn, however, as the Sabres defensive group is pretty well set in stone.
The Sabres next play Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings.