The Buffalo Sabres left Detroit with a 3-2 overtime preseason loss, but the game still offered a few useful clues for the coaching staff.
Buffalo opened the night in front when Trevor Kuntar scored the first goal of the game, and the Sabres carried that 1-0 lead for a stretch before the Red Wings answered before the first intermission. Jiri Kulich then gave Buffalo the only goal of the second period, and Sheldon Dries responded for Detroit in the third to push the game to overtime. Just over 30 seconds into the extra period, Alex DeBrincat finished it off on the power play for the Red Wings.
Preseason results are secondary this time of year. What matters more is who looked ready to help once the games start counting, and three Sabres stood out in that department.
Colten Ellis was one of the night’s most encouraging performances. He has appeared in every preseason game so far and has usually entered in the third period, but he got thrown into action earlier than expected after Alex Lyon left in the first period with a shoulder injury.
Ellis handled the shift in plans well, stopping 16 of 18 shots. The first puck he allowed came on a redirected shot by Sheldon Dries, and the overtime goal came while Detroit was still on the power play.
With Lyon’s status still unclear, the Sabres have to like what they’ve seen from Ellis, who has stopped 35 of 38 shots in the preseason after the season he had last year.
Dennis Gilbert also made his case. The free-agent addition, now in his second stint with Buffalo, logged almost 22 minutes of ice time Thursday, including 6:20 on the penalty kill.
He was on the ice for the overtime winner, but he did a lot of his best work while the Sabres were shorthanded. Gilbert finished with five blocked shots, the most on the team, and added three hits, second only to Tyson Kozak.
He entered camp expected to start in Rochester and not see much time in Buffalo, but the injuries earlier this week may have opened the door for him to serve as the extra defenseman to begin the season.
Kulich’s night was shorter than Buffalo likely wanted, as he finished with only 14 shifts and appeared to leave during the second period without any clear indication of why he was out of the game or off the bench. Still, before that point, he looked sharp.
His goal came on a strong second-period sequence, when he took a pass from Noah Ostlund and ripped a one-timer toward the net. Danil Tarasov appeared to stop it at first, but the puck slipped through and crossed the line.
Buffalo also had Kulich on a line with Ostlund and Konsta Helenius, a look that could be worth revisiting if Kulich is available when the season opens.
The Sabres close out the preseason Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with the regular season set to begin on October 1st.
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