Ryan Johnson, Eric Comrie impress in Buffalo Sabres' loss

PITTSBURGH – Ryan Johnson didn’t seem to have anywhere to go with the puck.

Yet, as Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Nieto closed in on the Buffalo Sabres’ defenseman, Johnson spun to his right to avoid a hit, then carried the puck toward the net before firing a shot on goalie Tristan Jarry.

It was the latest of many exceptional plays that Johnson has made since arriving in Buffalo for rookie camp more than two weeks ago. He seemingly finds a way to make something out of nothing when he has the puck.

And though Johnson’s latest outstanding performance wasn’t enough to help the Sabres defeat a stacked Penguins lineup Thursday night in a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena, he was again one of Buffalo’s standouts in preseason action.

“I’m just having fun and enjoying it,” the 21-year-old defenseman said in the visitors’ dressing room after he led the Sabres in ice time with 24:16. “That’s the big thing. I’m just trying to enjoy it and stay focused as well. I feel confident, which is great. I think I’m just enjoying it. That’s the major component. I’m not putting so much pressure on myself.”

Johnson’s move on Nieto was the second time in as many days that he showed how elusive he can be when trying to help the Sabres create offense. He fooled multiple Toronto Maple Leafs with a drive to the net Wednesday night at the Kraft Hockeyville exhibition in St. Thomas, Ontario. Johnson, a first-round draft pick in 2019, collected the puck near the blue line when it ricocheted off a skate, tucked it between his legs to get around a defender and avoided another close to net before spinning toward the slot to fire a pass that almost connected with Aleksandr Kisakov.

The offensive prowess isn’t the only way that Johnson has impressed Sabres coach Don Granato. Johnson has shown through three preseason games that he used his four years at the University of Minnesota to become a reliable defender. Skating has always been one of Johnson’s strengths. It was one of the traits that convinced former general manager Jason Botterill to draft Johnson with the 31st pick in the draft when he was only 17 years old.

Experience and coaching taught Johnson to use his skating to quickly close on the puck-carrier to kill a play. Johnson’s work through the preseason has shown why he was used by Minnesota as a shutdown defenseman last season. He used his stick in the third period Thursday to stop a 2-on-1 with Alex Nylander and Austin Wagner.

“Even in between periods, you speak to certain individuals and say, ‘Hey, here’s an adjustment you can make,’ and sit back as a coach and watch how fast they can actually make that adjustment,” said Granato. “Obviously, the more talented guys can make that immediately. Some guys need a couple practices or even longer, but RJ has shown lots of acclimation through this camp and tonight was another good test for him and I thought he did very well.

This wasn’t against a prospect-laiden lineup, either. Most of Johnson’s 5-on-5 ice time was against Sidney Crosby’s line, which included Bryan Rust and Rickard Rackell. The Penguins’ lineup resembled what many expect them to ice on opening night, led by Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson.

Rackell scored on a one-timer in the second period before Tage Thompson tied it with a highlight-reel display of stickhandling to fool Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry for a goal. O’Connor scored twice, including an empty-netter, to help Pittsburgh pull away, but it was the first time in the preseason that it was possible to measure prospects against top competition. Johnson passed with flying colors.

The Sabres are in a far different spot now than a year ago. Prospects like Johnson face long odds to make the team, especially on defense where the club has eight experienced options on one-way contracts. He has yet to play a professional regular-season game, plus there are multiple defensemen on two-way contracts that are also trying to show management that they can help in Buffalo. The reality is that Granato only has a spot or two available and it’s unlikely that either is on defense. Development is an organizational priority, but the Sabres are prioritizing winning above all else.

“It’s changed dramatically,” Granato said when asked about competition in camp. “We know and expect to win. And even though we’ve talked about developmety and how much young guys are going to progress, the bottom line is we know we can win hockey games now. We need to have that as a focus."

Here are other observations from the game:

Comrie was outstanding in goal against the Penguins’ stacked lineup and several of his 27 saves were made on challenging shots. It began in the first period with his stop on Crosby when the Penguins’ star center broke in alone behind Buffalo’s defense. Comrie followed it up by denying O’Connor on a breakaway in the second period. O’Connor got another breakaway on his next shift, only to be forced wide because Comrie took the proper angle. Comrie also stopped Rust on a breakaway in the third to keep it tied, 1-1.

It's still only one week into camp. Granato has repeatedly reminded reporters that he’s not evaluating any of his NHL guys yet. But it’s notable that Comrie looked good against a lineup like the one Pittsburgh iced when the Sabres’ defense included mostly prospects Thursday night.

Comrie’s comments after the game were more telling than the performance itself. The 28-year-old goalie one-year removed from posting a .920 save percentage with the Winnipeg Jets told The Buffalo News that he feels far better now compared to a year ago. He’s determined to bounce back from a challenging year that included a significant knee injury but included two encouraging stretches of play, capped by his 5­-1-1 finish, and he wants to be one of the Sabres’ goalies to start the season.

“For myself, it was a bit of a strange year,” he told The News. “I’m really excited about where I’m at right now. I’ve never felt better to where I am during the season. Last summer, I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t my best summer. I had a bad summer. For whatever reason, I wasn’t myself. This summer, I was dialed in. Maybe I put a little bit of pressure on myself. I got the new contract and never really had that contract before. Never really had that opportunity before, so I think I maybe put the weight of the world on my shoulders and went out there and was like, ‘Holy smokes, I have to be good every single night; I’ve got to do so much.’ Instead of going out there and saying, ‘F it,’ and play and do my thing and just do my best I can every single night. Kind of the way I was in Winnipeg.”

Sabres fans have yet to see Erik Johnson or Connor Clifton in the preseason, but the play of defensemen like Riley Stillman, Jacob Bryson, Kale Clague and Jeremy Davies is evidence that the team’s depth on the blue line is far stronger than a year ago.

Stillman was sharp again Thursday and helped the Sabres go 3-for-3 on the penalty kill while playing his physical style of play. He quickly thwarted a Penguins rush in the first period by leveling O’Connor along the wall. Bryson and Clague have been strong at helping Buffalo get out of its zone.

Barring an injury or surprise, the Sabres are expected to start the season with eight defensemen: Stillman, Bryson, Clifton, Ryan Johnson, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju.

Russian winger Viktor Neuchev made his preseason debut after missing the start of camp because of an undisclosed injury. Talk about trial by fire. Neuchev, a third-round draft pick in 2022, didn’t have the opportunity to compete against a bunch of prospects. He was on the ice against guys like Jeff Carter, who has appeared in 1,249 regular-season games.

“He’s got a real good feel for the game – his size, presence,” Granato said of Neuchev. “I think he’s got the athletic package, but he’s also got the hockey sense, the positional awareness.”

The preseason is a reminder that competing against prospects is far different than an NHL lineup like the one Pittsburgh used Thursday. There’s less time and space for forwards to make plays. The speed of the game is an adjustment for young defensemen like Nikita Novikov and Norwin Panocha, particularly when trying to exit their zone. But experience is an invaluable development tool to help prospects improve. Granato enjoyed putting prospects in challenging situations Thursday. Jiri Kulich won a defensive-zone faceoff against Crosby in the third period and, moments later, Tyson Kozak won a draw against Malkin.

Sabres’ coaches, management and medical staff “hope” that Matt Savoie will be ready to join the team for practice sometime next week, Granato told reporters following the morning skate Thursday. Savoie has been out with an injury to his left shoulder since the finale of the Prospects Challenge on September 11. It might be enough time for Savoie to play in the Sabres’ preseason finale next Friday against Pittsburgh in Buffalo.

Savoie’s teammate in junior hockey, Zach Benson, showed more flashes of mature play when on the ice against the Penguins’ best. His line with Thompson and Jordan Greenway were on the ice for Buffalo’s only goal. Greenway created the turnover that gave Thompson a lane toward the net. While Benson did not have a shot on goal in 16:48 of ice time, he was strong on the forecheck and stripped Rust of the puck to set up a scoring chance for Thompson in the third period.

The Sabres will host the Columbus Jackets in KeyBank Center on Saturday at 3 p.m. Granato is expected to cut his roster by Monday.