Sabres and Devils begin a back-to-back at Buffalo tonight

Published by hockeybuzz.com 11-11-2016


Odds are that the back-to-back, home-and-home games between the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils beginning tonight could be a snooze-fest. The Devils are traditionally know for playing a tight game while the Sabres, have been without Jack Eichel all season and were missing Evander Kane for 12 games until he returned to action against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Those two top-six forwards combined for 43 goals last season so a big chunk of the Sabres offense has been on the sidelines.

Having Kane come back on Wednesday against Ottawa was a plus for Buffalo but that was countered when top center Ryan O'Reilly was felled by an upper body injury that kept him out of the game. O'Reilly lead the Sabres in scoring last season with 60 points (21+39) and is in a three-way tie for the team-lead this season with eight points. Head coach Dan Bylsma has O'Reilly listed as day-to-day.

The Sabres were also without Tyler Ennis against the Senators and will be without him for weeks after he underwent groin surgery yesterday. Ennis has had a tough go of it the last two seasons having played in only 35 games total. He suffered two concussions last season limiting him to 12 games.

All of those injuries, however, have opened up opportunities for others.

Center Derek Grant found himself on the top-line between Kane and Buffalo's leading goal-scorer, Kyle Okposo, at times vs. Ottawa on Wednesday. Bylsma told the gathered media after yesterday's skate that he had Grant up there for his faceoff prowess. Grant ranks second on the team (100 faceoffs or more) behind O'Reilly with a 59.5% win percentage.

Grant has been carving out a spot on the roster as a defensive specialist for the club. He is second on the club amongst forwards in penalty kill TOI with 2:25/game while centering the fourth line. The role he's playing is what 35 yr. old David Legwand played last season. The Sabres had the ninth best kill last season at 82.6% and while this year so far they rank 19th at 80.4%.

Because of his defense, the 26 yr. old Grant has been garnering a lot of attention from the Sabres despite having only one point so far this season. It was a secondary assist after winning a faceoff (of course) against Ottawa on Wednesday. He has yet to score an NHL goal in 53 games.

With the injuries to regulars Nick Baptiste is getting an extended look in Buffalo. Baptiste joined the Sabres for an early Western Canada swing and in two games recorded his first NHL goal. The 21 yr. old was sent back down to Rochester but was recalled late last month. He remained solid in his fourth line role despite not hitting the score sheet but broke through with his second goal of the season against Ottawa. In eight games with Buffalo the speedy winger has two goals and has a plus-two plus/minus rating.

Winger Cole Schneider finally got the call to Buffalo after leading the AHL with 15 points in 12 games. He registered his first NHL point vs. Ottawa when he jumped on the faceoff win by Grant and tapped it to Batiste who sent a quick shot home to light the lamp. It was only the third NHL game for  the 26 yr. old.

To say the Sabres are having trouble scoring is an understatement. Their only goal against the Senators in the 2-1 shootout loss to the Senators came from the fourth line. Okposo has five goals while O'Reilly has four. Matt Moulson also has four but none have been at even strength and he hasn't scored a goal in eight games. With Kane returning to the lineup Bylsma dropped Moulson to the third line last game.

In all the Sabres are averaging only two goals per game tying them for 28th in the league. No doubt injuries have played a big part but they've also been unable to finish. Brian Gionta, who has three goals and Zemgus Girgensons (one goal) both had opportunities in overtime against Ottawa but were victims of the iron.

Without the goal scoring the Sabres have been forced to focus a lot more on defense in an effort to win, something the New Jersey Devils have done for decades. When they meet tonight it will be a game featuring teams with the fourth and fifth best goals against in the league. The Sabres have allowed an average of 2.23 goals/game while the Devils chime in at 2.25. New Jersey, by the way, is averaging 2.33 goals per game this season ranking them 25th in the league.

Traditionally when these two meet, one should expect a match akin to two heavyweight wrestlers going at it. The two sides plod along with not much happening until one side makes a mistake. In the nine meetings between the two teams over the past three years they scored a combined 31 goals or 3.44 goals/game. During that stretch the Sabres are 3-4-2 against New Jersey scoring a grand total of 14 goals and three players who are out of tonight's game--Eichel, Ennis and O'Reilly--scored eight of those.

In the last two seasons the Sabres have managed only three points against New Jersey--a win late last season and  shootout loss midway through the 2014-15 season. During that six-game stretch they're 1-4-1 against the Devils. With the entertainment value down, fans should expect a battle of attrition for two points in the standings. The Devils have 15 points (6-3-3) in 12 games placing them fourth in a tough Metropolitan Division while Buffalo has accumulated 13 points in 13 games placing them in a tie with Toronto for seventh place in the Atlantic Division.

Next stop, Philly. What we learned from the western Canada swing

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-21-16


The Buffalo Sabres are off until Tuesday when they finish their four-game road trip with a stop in Philadelphia to face the Flyers. Buffalo just completed a western Canada swing where they went 1-1-1 and outscored their opponents 11-8.  Heading into Vancouver last night the Sabres special teams were on track with the powerplay clicking at a 25% rate while the penalty kill had not allowed a goal and was nine-for-nine. They left Rogers Place with a 19% conversion rate after going 0-5 on the PP vs. the Canucks while their PK dropped to 92.8% after allowing their first goal against as Vancouver went 1-5 with the man advantage.

Numbers change, obviously, throughout the course of the season as hot start cools and vise-versa. Good teams can go in a funk or get stronger. Strong teams sometimes take a while to get going while bad teams offer glimmers of hope but just don't have the horses to compete and in the end succumb to lack of talent.

The Sabres are coming off of a good season where they pulled themselves out of the basement. Last year they started out rough, steadied the ship and began to make serious progress by the end of the season. This season looked to be promising but it was undercut by two key injuries in a span of about 24 hours. Jack Eichel went down with a high-ankle sprain at practice the day before opening night and winger Evander Kane crashed heavily into the boards in the opener and cracked three ribs. Both are out long-term.

In their absence lines have been shuffled, roles have changed and through four games head coach Dan Bylsma has stabilized things and is in search of consistency. The Sabres got schooled in the opener by the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 then proceeded to blow out the Edmonton Oilers on the first game of this road trip, 6-2. They played sporadically good hockey vs. Calgary but blew three one-goal leads, including twice in the third period, then proceeded to lose in overtime 4-3.

Plenty of positives as the Sabres close out the preseason with a win

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-08-16


The Buffalo Sabres travelled to Ottawa last night missing two top-six forwards and half of their starting defense corps with Ryan O'Reilly, Kyle Okposo, Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov nursing injuries and top defenseman, Rasmus Ristolainen, still unsigned.

While the Sabres may have been looking to simply hold the fort in their preseason finale' the Senators eyed a different approach. "I think we consider this the first game of 83 on the season," said Sens forward Mike Hoffman. "We've got the whole squad going tonight and I'm sure they have the same thing. Everyone wants to get the good habits going for when the first regular season game starts. We're taking this game like it's a real game."

Perhaps not every Ottawa player was on the same page as a depleted Buffalo squad handed them a 4-2 defeat. The Sabres scored once in the first period and twice in the second to take a 3-0 lead then proceeded to hold on the rest of the way. Buffalo got goals from Sam Reinhart, Marcus Foligno, Derek Grant and Evander Kane with Reinhart and Kane each adding an assist.

Notes before Buffalo's final preseason game at Ottawa

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-07-2016


Thanks to the World Cup of Hockey the NHL regular season has been pushed back about a week as the NHL reignited international competition. Whereas last year the league was starting the season on this date, today is the beginning of the final weekend of preseason action before the regular season commences on Wednesday, October 11th.

The Buffalo Sabres finish up their seven-game preseason schedule tonight with a trip to Ottawa to face the rival Senators. Ottawa cut it's roster to 25 players so the team on the ice tonight is pretty much the team we'll be seeing to start the season. Buffalo, on the other hand, is anything but that. Heading into the 7 p.m. matchup tonight the Sabres will be without the services of C, Ryan O'Reilly, RW, Kyle Okposo and defensemen Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov who are all nursing various injuries. Buffalo's top defenseman, Rasmus Ristolainen, is still without a contract and despite skating with the team, is not allowed to play in any games for the club.

The loss of five players for tonight's game means that the team will be giving an extended look to roster hopefuls. The projected lines for tonight, via the Sabres' Jourdon LaBarber, are:

Evander Kane-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Alexander Nylander-Zemgus Girgensons-Hudson Fasching
Tyler Ennis-Johan Larsson-Marcus Foligno
Nicolas Deslauriers-Derek Grant-Brian Gionta

On defense:

Brendan Guhle-Jake McCabe
Josh Gorges-Casey Nelson
Justin Falk-Cody Franson

In goal will be Robin Lehner who will be tuning up for next week's opener vs. the Montreal Canadians on October 13th.

Some have said the preseason is too long, but for players like Nelson and Grant, and extended look coupled with a strong performance could be the difference between them making the team or being sent to Rochester.

As has been chronicled throughout the preseason, Grant has been mentioned favorably by head coach Dan Bylsma after nearly every game he's played in. The 6'3" 202 lb. center has had an impact in the top-six and has played equally as well in the bottom-six. Even with the return of O'Reilly and Okposo, Grant has done enough to stick with the club when all's said and done and he has the added dimension of having a vet like Gionta on his line to make him better.

On the back-end, Nelson has been his usual calm, cool and collected self this preseason and it's earned him his fourth game in a row. Although he's a tad undersized, Nelson was able to hold his own in the NHL during his seven-game stint last season and looked the part of at least of an eventual top-six  defenseman.

Unlike the NFL where teams rest or limit their starters to avoid injury, the final preseason NHL game is usually a tune-up for the regular season. For the Sabres heading into tonight that won't be the case because of the injuries to five significant players. However, one line that will probably start the year together is Kane/Eichel/Reinhart. Bylsma usually likes to pair forwards then add a third on a line and last season the Eichel/Reinhart duo worked plenty of magic. Kane adds a physical north/south dimension to that line and on paper it seems like a good fit.

As for the other three lines, without O'Reilly and Okposo as well as with question marks surrounding Ennis recovering from his injury and with Matt Moulson and Girgensons looking to come back from poor seasons, let's just say they're works in progress.

So, hang in their, Sabres fans, the season is right around the corner.

Building the 2016-17 Buffalo Sabres roster--The Contenders

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-06-16


Based upon last season,the construct of the 2016-17 Buffalo Sabres roster leans towards having 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies. However, GM Tim Murray and head coach Dan Bylsma are looking at a situation where a number of forwards are battling for the 13th forward spot while as of now there seems to be only one veteran NHL defenseman who will stick in a depth role.

Forward Derek Grant, a July 1 signing by Murray, has forced his way into the conversation by playing in five consecutive pre season games and having an impact in most of them. Last night Grant stepped in when both Ryan O'Reilly and Daniel Catenacci were pulled for precautionary reasons in Buffalo's 3-2 shootout loss vs. the Carolina Hurricanes.

Bylsma has had nothing but praise for the 6'3" 206 lb. forward and he continued with it last night pointing out Grant's pass to spring Evander Kane for Buffalo's first goal while also being a key contributor on a 4-on-3 overtime penalty kill. "[When] you're trying to earn a spot on the team, you're trying to find a role as a player coming in, you can clearly see where Derek Grant could be a factor for our team," said Bylsma to the post-game media.

Nicolas Deslauriers scored the game-winner in Buffalo's 2-0 shutout win vs. Buffalo in the Kraft Hockeyville game the prior night and has looked pretty solid throughout this preseason. Deslauriers was in a bottom-six/checking line role last season and there's no reason to believe that he'll be anywhere else but there heading into the season.

Building the 2016-17 Buffalo Sabres roster--The forward reserves

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-03-2016


In building the third line of the Buffalo's roster just before the Sabres hit camp on September 22nd, we eschewed the "safe bet" of slotting in 37 yr. old Brian Gionta on the third line and opted to place up-and-coming 21 yr. old right wing Justin Bailey in that slot. It didn't exactly work out that way, however, as Bailey was among 17 players sent to Rochester.

Moving Bailey out and Gionta up opens up a slot on the fourth line that should come down to two players--Nicolas Deslauriers and upstart Derek Grant. Two young forwards, Hudson Fasching and Alexander Nylander, are in camp and will make their case for a roster spot as the week progresses. The Sabres have three more preseason games--tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday--before their regular season opener vs. Montreal on Thursday, October 13th.

The safe bet for the 12th and 13th forwards spots once again is on the vets beginning with a known quantity in Deslauriers.

There's a shiny new toy in Buffalo thanks to Sabres GM Tim Murray signing Grant in the off season and he's having himself a whale of a preseason. But as we found out when it came to the Buffalo Bills, "winning the preseason" might be great, but it's the regular season that counts and Deslauriers might get the nod on the fourth line when the season starts.