The Buffalo Sabres couldn't have asked for a better start to their Golden Season as they're off to a 2-0 start with wins at Pittsburgh and at home against the New Jersey Devils by a combined 10-3 score no. Buffalo showed their new approach by throttling the Penguins 3-1 on Thursday through a high-pressure game-plan while outshooting Pittsburgh 41-29. They followed that up with an even more impressive performance in a 7-2 win before a raucous KeyBank Center crowd. In both instances it was full-throttle forward for the Sabres as they took it to both clubs.
Bench boss Ralph Krueger, who has wins in his first two games as Buffalo head coach including his first win at home last night, has his charges doing what he wants and needs them to do and has them playing to their individual strengths. Buffalo's top line of Jack Eichel centering Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson looks as if they've been playing together for years with an approach that has them breaking out of their zone with aplomb before flying up ice and controlling the offensive zone. Get them on the powerplay with Jeff Skinner and Rasmus Dahlin and it's over. The Sabres went 3/4 on the powerplay last night with Olofsson scoring two powerplay goals and Eichel one. In their first two games Buffalo is 4/6 with Conor Sheary scoring the other one against Pittsburgh.
The Sabres up-tempo pace has carried the team these two games and has effectively covered a few holes in the lineup. Though it's easy to get caught up in the euphoria of a hot start, especially after last night's beat-down of the Devils at home, everything we knew about each individual player is pretty much true. Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson, Vladimir Sobotka and Kyle Okposo are what they are up front, however they've been a part of this blitzkrieg and any flaws in their game have been masked.
It's been a team effort and what really seems to have transformed Buffalo from a hot mess last season into a force through two games so far is the 200' support from every player, which starts in their own end.
At any given moment we'll see three, four or even five guys around the puck in a defensive zone battle and they'll move to open space when it's decided. If the opposition gets the puck they cut off passing lanes and focus on pressure. When the Sabres get the puck the carrier has a number of outlets including players streaking up ice for the stretch pass, which they've converted on a number of occasions. The breakout has been particularly impressive thus far as all the defensemen have been getting the puck to the forwards and the defining part of that equation revolves around the support from the forward group. Once Buffalo gets the puck to the neutral zone it's fill a lane, hit the afterburners and head up ice.
This is hockey the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time and it's great to see after watching year after year of the opposition doing the exact same thing to Buffalo. As we move forward teams will begin to figure out what the Sabres are doing and devise a scheme to counter that but for now it's a joy to watch. It's also best to remember that Pittsburgh was probably caught a little off guard while the Devils were playing the second of a back-to-back to open the season, which is no easy task at any time during the season.
It's safe to say that neither Pittsburgh or New Jersey offered their best but it's also right to say that the Sabres never really gave them the opportunity to gain any momentum. When there were breakdowns in Buffalo's defense and opportunities presented, goalie Carter Hutton was there for the team. Hutton is running with a 1.50 goals-against average on a .939 save percentage right now and the biggest part of his game has revolved around making big saves at the right time. Against Pittsburgh especially, Hutton turned aside some nice opportunities early that could have put the Sabres in a hole and changed the dynamics of the game. Hutton also made some nice saves later to preserve their two-goal lead.
Buffalo heads to Columbus tomorrow night to face a Blue Jackets team that was embarrassed by the Penguins 7-2 on Saturday. The Jackets lost a lot of talent this off season but are still have some very good players and are coached by veteran bench boss John Tortorella. Rest assured he'll have a game-plan drawn up to try and stifle the Sabres. He may not have the overall talent, but good, veteran coaches like him will get what he can out of what he was given.
Although you can't win the Stanley Cup in October, for many potential bubble teams, the road to the playoffs begins with Game-1 of the season. Tomorrow's game against Columbus will be Buffalo's third straight against the Metropolitan Division and all three they will have faced teams were expected to be in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. Each regulation win represents a four-point swing in a potential wild card race, of which the Sabres are hoping to be a part of, and a Metro sweep this early bodes well for the Sabres.
It's a great day for Western New York to savor what happened last night from the 50th Anniversary celebration until the final horn. "What a wonderful day for the fans who I got to see for the first time, and the heartbeat we have," said Krueger to the gathered media post-game. "What a day for the guys to step up with a game like this."
And what a great start to the season.
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