With or without starters Sabres still win
Sabres 3 – Penguins 2 (unsuccessful penalty shot) Pittsburgh gave it their best shot but Buffalo’s tandem goaltending was sparkling in net last night, with 19 years old 5th round, 141st overall 2023 draft selection goaltender Scott Ratzlaff who stopped all 10 SOG he faced in the third period to preserve the victory.
This preseason Sabres team stopped four Pittsburgh power plays, blocked more shots, but took 28.3% of faceoff wins, were out hit nearly 2 to 1, and ended up being outshot, thankfully there was strong goaltending from 10 year ECHL and AHL veteran Michael Houser in the first two periods.
HC Ruff made me laugh when after over an hour’s worth of drills, the coach challenged defenseman Mattias Samuelsson to hit a length-of-the-ice shot into an empty net on Wednesday and if he made it, the coach said practice would be over.
The defenseman, after scoring in Columbus, hit the shot and was swarmed by teammates, “After he scored, he looked like a 50-goal scorer,” HC Ruff said. “And he nailed it! That’s probably the most surprising part of practice for me.”
Preseason Sabres continuing on the road to Ottawa for a Thursday night game before heading to Columbus Saturday, meanwhile Buffalo Starters play an exhibition game versus a top professional German team, Red Bull Munchen in Munich Friday afternoon two o’clock EST.
Buffalo Winter 