"He was solid, confident, calm in a comforting influence on the rest of our team," said coach Dan Bylsma. "You felt like when Chad was in the net, we had a chance to win every game that he played. He ends up winning over 20 games and had a great year for us. We don't need to see any of that tomorrow."

Asked by the Calgary media for a scouting report on his old team, Johnson was filled with praise for Bylsma and the Sabres.

"It's a well-coached team. They have good structures, good systems, guys in their group who have been together for a little bit now," Johnson said. "Last year we found our way later on in the season. They're very balanced from top to bottom. They're deep and play hard."

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Bylsma said Lehner will make his third straight start in goal Tuesday night but that his plans for Thursday night's game in Vancouver are uncertain. It's possible backup Anders Nilsson, who had a strong preseason, will make his Sabres debut in that game.

The spread-out nature of the Sabres early schedule, which features no back-to-backs until Oct. 29-30, makes it dicey to get Nilsson playing time. After the Vancouver game, the Sabres have four days off before playing Oct. 25 in Philadelphia.