The Buffalo Sabres played a split squad scrimmage in front of about 3,000 fans at Key Bank Center on Saturday afternoon, giving the club a workout before setting out on their abbreviated preseason in Pittsburgh on Monday. The two sides were divided equally with likely NHLers and players bound for the AHL Rochester Americans, and Team Gold won the three-period scrimmage 3-1, but Team Blue won the shootout 3-2.
Noah Ostlund, Mattias Samuelsson, and Jack Quinn scored for the Gold squad, while Beck Malenstyn scored for the Blue. In the shootout, Tage Thompson, Josh Doan and Owen Power scored for the Blue, while Josh Norris and Rasmus Dahlin tallied for the Gold.
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After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff, who watched the game from the press box, said he was happy with the pace of the contest.
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The scrimmage marked the debut of defenseman Olin Zellweger, who was acquired from Anaheim in June. The 22-year-old was paired with Owen Power and flashed a nice spin move in the second period. The Sabres are hopefully that Zellweger can fill some of the gap created by the departure of Bowen Byram.
“I thought (Olin) closed really well. I think you’re looking at guys trying to get used to how we play or want to play and how we close.” Ruff said. “I thought he closed in a lot of plays. I thought offensively , he tried to jump up in that third period where their team needed a goal. He joined on several occasions, where I thought he deferred to maybe a little bit of too much of a fancy play where I thought he probably could have delivered, but a lot to like there for sure.”
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The contest also marked the return of Jiri Kulich, who played only 12 games last season due to a blood clot issue. The 22-year-old was able to get back on the ice in July, and the Sabres seem to be easing him back into the lineup, as he has been skating on a fourth-line unit with Sam Carrick and Malenstyn.
“I thought as the game went on, he looked more and more comfortable. Made some good plays, had a couple great chances.” Ruff said. “I think there are opportunities. There’s a few more plays out there he could have made, but I thought overall he skated really welll (and)he was noticeable.”
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