The Buffalo Sabres have secured wins in their first two games of the preseason and outscored the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-1. It was a great start, and they will look to keep the momentum going into consecutive games against the Detroit Red Wings.
In the first two games, the coaching staff tried to split was is expected to be the roster almost evenly between the games. It will be interesting to see if they continue that for these games against the Red Wings or if they look to shorten the roster as they gear up for the regular season.
When looking ahead to these next two games, these are five players to watch closely as a few try to continue their strong performance, while one forward line tries to get on track.
Alexandar Georgiev
The Buffalo Sabres had some serious concerns at goalie entering training camp, as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is dealing with an injury. The team brought in Alexandar Georgiev seemingly in response to the injury, and he has looked great so far.
He would secure a shutout in the team's scrimmage and then stopped all 16 shots he faced in two periods against the Blue Jackets in the first preseason game.
Georgiev hasn't been the only goalie who has looked good, as Alex Lyon and Devon Levi have also played two periods each. The biggest question is whether the goalie position is better than expected or if the Blue Jackets' offense wasn't good enough to test them.
If Georgiev puts together another good performance, it might allow the Sabres to be a little more patient bringing back Luukkonen from his injury. At the very least, it gives the coaching staff a tough decision in picking who backs up Luukkonen once he does return.