Sabres prepping for game pace with Blue vs. Gold Scrimmage

Ahead of Tuesday's preseason opener, the Buffalo Sabres hit the ice Sunday night for the annual intra-squad Blue vs. Gold Scrimmage at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo had two days of practice under the belts heading into the two-period scrimmage that also included an overtime period and a shootout.
Team Gold's Craig Anderson and Team Blue's Dustin Tokarski both stopped all the shots they faced in the first period.

Anderson, a veteran of 652 NHL games who signed as a free agent this summer, is still getting acclimated to the organization and familiarizing himself with his new teammates. He said his job Sunday was to be the best communicator he could be to help the defense do their jobs and clear pucks out of the zone.
"Tonight was just a good night to get the rust out, get out there, and feel the game pace," he said. "Game pace is always a little bit different, a little bit tougher than the practices so it's good to get in there and get in that mindset of game mode."

Center Ryan MacInnis, who signed a one-year deal in July, pounced on a loose puck in the slot and then roofed one over goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's shoulder 2:56 into the second period to give Team Blue a 1-0 lead.
Linus Weissbach, a seventh-round pick in 2017, fired the puck into the empty net with 20.5 seconds left to make it 2-0.
After regulation, the two teams skated in a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime period. Tage Thompson had some of the best opportunities of the 3-on-3 for Team Gold, including a one-timer from the left faceoff circle and a chance in tight that hit the crossbar.

Victor Olofsson added another goal for Team Blue with 1:15 left, capitalizing on a turnover and lifting a shot top shelf.
"We're talking a little bit about things we want to do as a team, but for myself it's just to find that timing again," Olofsson said. "I just feel like we want to get that timing back and get that pace back. It was nice to get out there and feel the ice again."

The night ended with a five-round shootout.
Casey Mittelstadt scored on Aaron Dell with a nifty backhand in the top of the first round for Team Gold, but Dylan Cozens tied it up in the bottom of the fifth with a backhand of his own. Henri Jokiharju went top shelf on Luukkonen to win the shootout in the bottom of the first extra frame for Team Blue.

Buffalo will return to practice Monday morning at KeyBank Center. Stay tuned to Sabres.com for full training camp coverage.
The team's first preseason game will take place Tuesday night in Columbus. Buffalo will open the regular season on October 14 at home against Montreal.
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