Big challenge tonight for the fourth...err, Larsson...umm, checking line?

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-11-2019

A line by any other name, in this case the Johan Larsson line otherwise known as the fourth line to some, still smells like a checking line. And it's a good one.

Although Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger says he refuses to count the lines, stating that every line has equal importance in his scheme, we all really know better. Jack Eichel leads the forwards in even-strength time on ice and his linemates Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson are second and third, respectively. The next three in order are Jeff Skinner, Marcus Johansson and Vladimir Sobotka, who represent a line.

Perhaps it gets a little hazy after that as the Larsson/Zemgus Girgensons/Kyle Okposo line rank seventh, eight and ninth on the team in EV ATOI which might earn them the title of Buffalo's third line. Yet Okposo had this quote when discussing the effectiveness of his line, "We're a pretty formidable line right now, he said. "You look across (as an opponent,) you see a fourth line (his line) and you say, 'What the hell am I doing in my D-zone?'"

Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster--The Fourth Line

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-15-2019


In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.


There will be a lot of competition for a role on Buffalo's fourth line as the additions of top-nine forwards Marcus Johansson and Jimmy Vesey push players down the depth chart to where they should be in the first place. Sabres general manager Jason Botterill and new head coach Ralph Krueger have a group of veteran fourth-line players that are interchangeable battling for three spots on the line and they'll be joined by a former goal-scorer who's struggled in that department, some young bucks trying to make a name for themselves and a couple of AHL scorers trying to crack an NHL lineup. 

One thing we probably won't see this season are young skilled players/scorers, like first round pick Dylan Cozens or Tage Thompson, skating in a fourth-line role as players will sink or swim with the skills, and within the roles they were drafted for.

Which is a good thing.

Larsson re-signs. Botterill keeping the 4th-line gang together?

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-12-2019


As written on many occasions last season, the Sabres fourth line did their job and more than once were the best line out of the forward group. Sure, they didn't do a lot of scoring but Phil Housley didn't seem to want that from them. What he wanted from the likes of Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson and whomever was on the other wing was to forecheck their asses off and flip the ice, which they did quite often. Although it didn't result in too much offense outside the top line of Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart, it wasn't their fault that the middle six was as inept as anything we've seen dating back to the 2014-15 tank season.

Both Girgensons and Larsson are young vets who were restricted free agents with arbitration rights. Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill qualified both of them (along with five others) in late June and Girgensons signed a one-year deal on July 5 for $1.6 million, which was the same average annual value he signed for on his previous two-year deal. Larsson, who did not file for arbitration, and the Sabres agreed to a one-year deal today for $1.55 million which was slightly above the $1.475 million AAV he signed on his previous two-year deal.

And with those two signings, two-thirds of the fourth-line gang are under contract and will be fighting for those minutes.

Girgensons signs, four Sabres RFA's are in a group of 40 to file for arbitration

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-6-2019


Restricted free agent forward Zemgus Girgensons and the Buffalo Sabres reached an agreement yesterday on a one-year, $1.6 million deal, the same dollar amount he played for last season. The former first round pick (2012, 14th-overall) is the longest tenured Sabres player on the roster and will be entering his seventh season with the Blue and Gold. During his six years the organization has seen major changes which include the dismantling of owner Terry Pegula's inner circle, the dismissal of two team presidents, a six-month stint for a vice president of hockey operations, two general managers and five head coaches.

Both he and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (2013, eighth-overall) have endured a lot of changes since being selected by the Sabres in the NHL Draft yet the full force of fan disenchantment has been directed at these two players. The gist of the consternation,which has also been started by and/or fostered by local media, is that both have a part of a losing culture and that if the team wants to start turning their fortunes around, moving on from either or both would really get the team moving in the right direction.

Such is the life of a whipping boy.

Impressions of, and questions concerning--C, Johan Larsson

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-1-2019

Center--Johan Larsson DOB: July 25, 1992 (Age, 26)
Draft: 2010, 2nd round (56th overall) MIN
How acquired: Trade with MIN, April 3, 2013
Last contract signed: July 8, 2017, 2yr./$2.95 million
Final year of contract: 2018-19

2018-19 Stats:  73 games | 6 goals | 8 points | -8 | 14:18 ATOI

Buffalo Career Stats:  331 games | 32 goals | 47 assists | 79 points | -49 | 14:36 ATOI

What we wrote preseason:  Prior to his foot injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week, Larsson seemed like a bubble player. He had a rough season last year and despite coming to camp with a different attitude and a sharper focus, Larsson hasn't had an impact in a bottom-six role. Add to that his lack of speed, which most other bubble forwards have, and it looked as if he was on the way out prior to his injury.

What we wrote mid-season:  At the end of last season many wanted him bought out and shipped out on the first boat back to Europe. However, Larsson knew he had a terrible season and went to work over the summer to make corrections. Housley noticed the change at camp and after fits and starts to begin the season the season, Larsson excelled and is now locked into a fourth-line center role with top-unit penalty kill duties. He and Girgensons have really made that line into a force and they might be having a positive effect on Thompson, who seems to have picked up his game. There's no doubt we would like to see better production than his five points (3+2) in 31 games but Larsson's defensive role, as well as that of being Housley's go-to faceoff guy as of late, makes him a solid piece on a winning team this year.

Impressions on his play this year:  I'm not sure if he really was a bubble player during preseason, but he sure as hell played like it. From October to the Christmas break he really looked like a solid fourth-line center who excelled in a defensive role. When the bottom fell out with the team Larsson easily took a tumble along with them.

Zemgus Girgensons and Larsson are two sides of the same coin who have played together a lot in the Sabres system. Both were put in strictly defensive roles (Larsson with a second-most 84.4% d-zone starts) and have failed to produce more than reserve-forward type numbers lately. In addition to that, they seen, and contributed to, a lot of losing here in Buffalo. Despite their solid defensive play, having both on the team doesn't bode well for the future and because both are restricted free agents with arbitration rights, there's a good possibility that one of the two, or even both, could be allowed to walk.

Despite his less than NHL-caliber speed (as opposed to Girgensons' north/south NHL speed) when Larsson is on his game, he's very hard to play against and we saw spurts of that last season when the team was winning. But as things got progressively worse, any positives the 26 yr. old Swede had going for him vanished. His time with the Sabres seems to be tied with the incoming coach and the health of young players like Sean Malone who looks to be heir-apparent on the fourth line.

Questions moving forward:  Can the incoming coach build a winning environment? Can Larsson contribute to that and will he be able to thrive in that environment? Would a Swedish coach like Rickard Grönborg be able to get more out of Larsson? Can he do better than 14 points (6+8) and 50.7 faceoff percentage regardless of the coach? Is it time to move on from him?

Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.

Buffalo @ Washington notes and such, plus, Patrik Berglund suspended

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-15-2018


The good news for the Buffalo Sabres is that they'll be playing against a team that went to the sixth round of the shootout on the road last night and will be flying back home for the second game of a back-to-back against them. The bad news is that Buffalo be playing the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals who've won four in a row and are led by captain Alexander Ovechkin who extended his 13-game point streak (16 goals, 6 assists) last night by posting his second consecutive hat trick.

There's been no Stanley Cup hangover for "The Great Eight" this season as he's been ready, according to his head coach Todd Reirden. "[Ovechkin] came back after winning the Stanley Cup and was ready to go from Day One," said Reirden to the gathered media after Washington's come-from-behind win, "and he hasn't stopped since. He's doing it game after game, obviously. It's very impressive. He's been outstanding."

Ovechkin leads the league with 28 goals, is now tied for seventh with 42 points and he's got his team on a roll. Washington has won 11 of those 13 games during his streak and the Caps have gone from fourth in the Metropolitan division, four points out of the top spot, to leading the division by five points. They extended their present streak in dramatic fashion last night by overcoming a three-goal, third period deficit, killing a penalty in overtime then winning it in the shootout.

Here's Carolina Hurricanes forward, and three-time Stanley Cup champion, Justin Williams put it to the local media last night. "Once they got down, they started playing a different game and scored some goals because of it. There's a reason they are who they are. They had guys flying the zone, and they figured they were either going to lose it 7-1 or tie it up."

The Sabres haven't exactly been chopped liver this season but going into Washington has always been a challenge. Buffalo is only 2-6-2 in it's last 10 games at Capital One Arena with their last win coming November 22, 2014. Buffalo is 0-4-1 since that win. Oddly enough the Sabres had their most success vs. Washington during the tank years going 3-1-2 vs. the Caps overall and 2-1-0 on the road.

Buffalo said goodbye to a five-game losing streak (0-3-2) with back-to-back wins and head into this weekend with a tough assignment as they play the Capitals tonight then head to Boston to take on the Bruins tomorrow. Perhaps the Sabres caught a break with Washington in an emotionally and physically draining overtime game last night, but then again the Caps don't play again until Wednesday and Ovechkin seems to be on a mission once again which could make for a very difficult game.


*****

A lot of attention has been given to the Sabres fourth line and their lack of scoring this season. Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson have anchored Buffalo's checking line for most of the season and they've combined for 11 points (5+6) in 55 combined games and the Capitals offer an interesting comparison.

The Capitals this season have a fourth line anchored by Dmitrij Jaskin and Nic Dowd with the duo combining for 19 points (5+14) in 52 games. They've been particularly hot as of late scoring a goal and adding five assists in their last three games, which is pretty potent for two players whose average even-strength time on ice is 9:45 and 8:35, respectively.

Girgensons and Larsson have also been contributing for Buffalo lately with a goal each in their last two games and have logged even-strength average time on ice of 11:09 and 11:38, respectively, on the season.

Many times Sabres head coach Phil Housley has said that their fourth line has been one of the best lines on the ice for them despite the duo of Girgensons (11.86%) and Larsson (11.44%) having the lowest percentage of offensive zone starts, by far, on the team. By contrast, Dowd comes in at 32.98% while Jaskin is at 48.68%. The huge discrepancy is due in large part to Buffalo's duo being on the top penalty kill unit with Girgensons and Larsson both at 2:36 SH ATOI while in Washington, Dowd is part of a multi-layered PK with four Caps forwards logging more PK ice time than his average of 1:53/game. Jaskin is an afterthought on the PK (:08.)

Despite the heavy defensive responsibilities, Buffalo's fourth line has been able to flip the ice, get on the forecheck and create opportunities. Although a Roberto Duran "Hands of Stone" analogy is fitting on most occasions, they're doing what is asked of them with their duo contributing as many goals as Washington's.


*****

Buffalo's top line of Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart have also been doing their part as they've carried the load for the team.

Over the last 17 games which includes a 10-game winning-streak followed by a five-game losing streak and these last two wins in a row, the Sabres scored 36 even strength goals in regulation. The top trio has accounted for 20 of those which is a pretty solid ratio of about 56%. Girgensons and Larsson have scored a combined four goals with Evan Rodrigues, who's spent much of his time on their line, adding another. With the Sabres first and fourth lines accounting for 25 of Buffalo's 36 EV goals in that span, that leaves the middle-six with a combined 11 EV goals.

The breakdown of the middle six:

Tage Thompson, Casey Mittelstadt--3
Vladimir Sobotka--2
Jason Pominville, Kyle Okposo, Conor Sheary--1

Luckily Buffalo has gone 12-3-2 during that span which puts them solidly in the Atlantic Division's top three, one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place but still only four points ahead of the Boston Bruins. However, it would behoove that middle-six, and the coaching staff, to figure things out before the Sabres find themselves in a nutty wild card race.


*****

Speaking of the Eastern Conference, there could be a huge cluster in the middle of the conference at season's end. As of right now the Tampa Bay Lightning is the class of the conference with the Capitals surging towards them and there's no reason to believe that the Toronto Maple Leafs will finish anywhere else but second in the division behind the Lightning.

Over in the Metropolitan the Caps are in the driver's seat of a seemingly weak Metropolitan Division with the Pittsburgh Penguins on the move ready to over take the second place Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Sabres lead every team in the Metropolitan division and are four points ahead of the Bruins, who hold the first wild-card spot with 38 points. The Montreal Canadiens have 37 points and there are four teams in the conference with 32 points.

Over the years the Sabres have bemoaned lost points in October and November leaving them to scramble for every possible point later in the year. With 26 of a possible 34 points in the bag over the last 17 games, they've been able to create a cushion between themselves and that group of teams presently in the wild-card hunt.

It's something that shouldn't be taken for granted, but it's something they may look back upon with pride.


*****

While writing this blog it was announced that forward Patrik Berglund "has been suspended indefinitely by the organization due to failure to report to the team," according to the Sabres. 

Berglund came over from the St. Louis Blues in the Ryan O'Reilly and has been in a bottom-six/reserve role for much of the season. He wasn't in the lineup the last two games due to illness, according to Housley via reports. In 23 games for Buffalo Berglund has scored only four points (2+2) and he's played in only nine of the Sabres last 17 games with zero points and a minus-8 rating.

The team had no further comment.

On Larsson and Girgensons, coach Phil Housley's fourth-line anchors

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-14-2018


The Athletic's John Vogl had an interesting tweet after the Sabres hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay Lightning last night:  "For 10 shifts, Johan Larsson and Zemgus Girgensons matched up against Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning stars left with no points."

After looking at the tape of last night's game, not only did those two hold them without a point, they also limited Tampa's dynamic duo to only three total shots on goal--two by Stamkos in the first period and one by Kucherov in the third period. Granted, both Larsson and Girgensons were on the ice when Kucherov clanked two off the post with less than a minute to play and the Bolts with an extra attacker, but the Sabres best checking duo more than held there own even while covering for a less than solid defensive winger on their right most of the night.

Both Larsson and Girgensons have had their fair share of grief thrown their way as both have been on the team through some of the worst years of hockey the Buffalo area has ever had the displeasure of witnessing. Especially Girgensons who came off a 15-goal season in Buffalo's 201-15 tank year and has steadily seen his production plummet as his offensive flaws were exposed while a number of coaches, and even GM's, paraded through Buffalo the past five seasons. It's taken a while but it seems as if he's found a home on the fourth line.

Larsson came over in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on April 3, 2013 and skated with Girgensons for the Rochester Americans in the 2013 AHL playoffs where the Amerks were swept in three games. Girgensons had three goals that series and Larsson assisted on all three of them.

Since then Girgensons has been plying his trade at the NHL level on a full-time basis while Larsson split time between Buffalo and Rochester for the 2014-15 season before skating full time for Buffalo the following seasons.

The numbers haven't been kind to either player from '15-16 on. Girgensons scored 28 goals and 49 points in 217 games prior to this season and was a cumulative minus-19. Larsson scored 20 goals and 45 points in 190 games during that span and is a combined minus-41 with minus-30 of that negative rating coming last season.

For his part, Girgensons has been in the lineup, although he's been moved all over. Former Sabres bench boss Dan Bylsma used him on every line in almost every position while Housley's usage isn't too far off that. With Larsson's struggles last season, it's no wonder that there was plenty of apprehension heading into training camp.

To his credit, Larsson worked hard in the off season and Housley took notice early in camp. “Regardless of the first year, I see him now, I think he’s had three really good days (of training camp),” Housley said to the media after a scrimmage. “He’s come into camp in really good shape, probably the best shape that he’s been in. So it’s good to say he took the words in the right way at the end of the year. But he’s been really, really good so far in camp.”

However, despite great strides made by Larsson he suffered a lower body injury and didn't make it into the lineup until Buffalo's fourth game of the season. That game against Colorado was pretty brutal for Larsson and he remained out of the lineup until Housley blew up his forward lines and put Larsson back in. Since Housley did that on October 20, his Sabres are 7-2-2.

The coach had relied on the duo of Larsson and Girgensons to lock things down in close games and they've done a solid job giving up a late lead once so far.

They were on the ice last night late in the game with the Lightning assaulting them in the defensive zone, but with the help of two goal posts they managed to hold the lead and give a well-deserved win to goalie Carter Hutton who stood on his head to steal two points from the conference's best team.

Although they aren't putting up the points (a combined one goal and six assists,) they're getting the job done in a defensive role as Housley's fourth-line anchors. And they seem to be relishing their roles, as a frustrated Stamkos and Kucherov might attest to.

Injuries open up spots on the Sabres roster

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-1-2018


Sabres forward Johan Larsson is a 26 yr. old young veteran who's played in 258 NHL games in a bottom-six role for Buffalo. Last year, much like the team in general, Larsson had a terrible season and coming into camp he was anything but a lock to make the roster.

Last month as training camp was beginning to roll, head coach Phil Housley told the gathered media he liked what he'd seen from Larsson in camp to that point. "I think he’s had three really good days (of training camp),” Housley said (via Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times) after the Sabres scrimmaged Sunday morning inside HarborCenter. “He’s come into camp in really good shape, probably the best shape that he’s been in. So it’s good to say he took the words in the right way at the end of the year. But he’s been really, really good so far in camp.”

Larsson's performance on the ice during the preseason was good and he showed flashes of his better self but really wasn't standing out from amongst the many players vying for a roster spot. The acquisitions of Conor Sheary added top-nine depth and when the Sabres traded Ryan O'Reilly to the St. Louis Blues they brought back two veterans forwards in Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka who pretty much passed Larsson on the depth chart upon arrival. In August the Sabres traded for top-six forward Jeff Skinner and he pushed another player down the depth chart probably pushing Larsson out, unless the latter had a helluva camp.

That really didn't happen and this past Wednesday Larsson suffered a foot injury. He's listed as day-to-day right now and prior to yesterday, many expected that when he came off of the injured list he'd be waived. However, what looks to be a serious injury to Scott Wilson yesterday during practice may have given Larsson a brief reprieve.

Wilson, whom the Sabres traded for in December and re-signed to a two-year contract extension, looked to be slated for fourth line duties on the wing before getting tangled up with Rasmus Ristolainen yesterday. Word from the rink had him being helped off the ice and not being able to put any pressure on his right foot. It might be safe to say that he won't be ready for the season opener on Thursday and might be out for an extended period of time. 

Oddly enough, Sheary had just returned to practice yesterday after suffering an injury on the first day of training camp.

Another forward who was making a strong push for the opening night roster was rookie Sean Malone who suffered a knee injury in the preseason opener against Columbus. The center is expected to be out six weeks and is expected to got to Rochester when he's cleared to play.

The injuries to Malone, Larsson and now Wilson, in addition to the waiving of winger Justin Bailey and Nicholas Baptiste have combined to allow for winger Tage Thompson and Alexander Nylander to remain with the club. As of now there are 16 forwards listed on Buffalo's roster and only 13 when you take out the injured Malone, Larsson and Wilson.

Buffalo's defense-corps is crowded right now, at least on paper. The Sabres roster on defense stands at 11 players, but three of them are injured and another, Matt Tennyson, was waived on Saturday, cleared, and is presently practicing with the team. Defenseman Matt Hunwick was acquired in the Sheary trade but has been sidelined with a neck injury that caused him to miss all of training camp, Brandon Hickey is also sideline with an undisclosed injury and, as usual, Zach Bogosian is also out with an injury.

That leaves a group of four players that were pegged as starters to begin with--Rasmus Ristolainen, Marco Scandella, Jake McCabe and Rasmus Dahlin--plus two from last year, Nathan Beauleu and Casey Nelson, also in the mix for the top-six. Twenty-one year old defenseman Brendan Guhle, who's had a good but not spectacular camp, is still with the club and may have an opportunity to get into the top six should Bogosian not be ready for Thursday's opener.

Nylander, Thompson and Guhle are all waiver's exempt and when the injured start returning any of those three can be sent down without them having to pass through waivers. And, since Bailey and Baptiste cleared, they can be brought up and sent down if the Sabres want to bring either of them up for the opener.

NHL teams well need to pare their roster to 23 players tomorrow and when six of your 27 skaters are injured, that won't be much of a problem for Buffalo. Plus they can even keep Tennyson around as an extra defenseman, if they so desire.

There will be a lot to watch come opening night including individual players like Jack Eichel, newcomer Skinner and rookie defenseman Dahlin but we'll also be keeping an eye on young players like Nylander, Thompson and Guhle. Injuries have given them opportunities but their performances will dictate where the roster stands when the injured return.

Impressions of, and questions concerning--C, Johan Larsson

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-27-2018


Center--Johan Larsson
DOB:  July 25, 1992 (Age, 25)
Draft:  2010, 2nd round (56th overall) MIN
How acquired:  Trade with MIN, April 3, 2013
Last contract signed:  July 8, 2017, 2yr./$2.95 million
Final year of contract:  2018-19

2017-18 Stats:  80 games played | 4 goals | 13 assists | 17 points | -30 | 14:07 ATOI
Buffalo Career Stats:  257 games | 26 goals | 39 assists | 65 points | -41 | 14:41


What we wrote preseason:  The stout, 5'11" 200 lb. native of Sweden and captain of their 2012 World Junior gold medal squad (their first since 1981) was a third round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2010 and in 2015-26 completed his first full season in Buffalo chalking up a career high 10 goals and 17 points and that seemed to be his floor.

When he's on his game, Larsson has a very abrasive style of play that grates on the opposition to the point where they end up chasing him around instead of following the play. Injuries took away what was promising to be his best season ever (2016-17) and one could surmise that we still haven't seen Larsson's production peak yet. The third-line center position could be up for grabs this year dependent upon how Housley wants it constructed and in the years to come, Larsson will have a couple of players, most notably Rasmus Asplund and Cliff Pu, nipping at his heels for that spot.

That's not a bad thing for the Sabres as ideally Larsson would make for an excellent fourth-line center on a Cup-contending team. And if we see him in that spot, it will mean good things are happening for the forward group.


What we wrote mid-season:  Has the second-worst plus/minus on the team at a minus-15 and averages fourth-line minutes. Larsson only has one goal this year, and it was an empty-netter. Like the rest of the team he's looked better as of late, but those first 25 games or so were brutal. With the Sabres returning to health, ice-time will go to those who produce and/or earn it and Larsson will need to up his play if he wants to be in the lineup. Center Jacob Josefson is nearing return from injury and will probably take over that No. 4 center's role meaning Larsson will either be bumped to the wing or bumped up into the press box.


Impressions on his play this year:  For the most part, awful. Larsson was a minus-30, dead last on the team. Those around him at -34 (Kyle Okposo,) and minus-25 (Rasmus Ristolainen and Jack Eichel) were all on the ice for nearly all of the league-leading 22 empty net goals against and an NHL second worst 10 shorthanded goals against. With the emergence of Evan Rodrigues as a legit third-line center and the introduction of center Casey Mittelstadt into the lineup next season, Larsson will be dropping down the center depth chart. And with this past season being as rough as it was, he may drop down further than that as there could be a huge youth movement in Buffalo next season.


Questions moving forward:  Was his poor season a product of the poor team he played on? With all the changes the team has gone through, does he even like playing in Buffalo anymore? Will Sean Malone be ready to make the jump to the NHL next season as a fourth-line center? Does Larsson have any trade value? Would the team waive him? How would he react to being waived? Is he a buyout candidate?  



Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.

Sabres singin' the KeyBank blues as St. Louis comes to town

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-3-2018


The Buffalo Sabres have been simply abysmal at home this season. There's no other way to put it. Not only are they a paltry 6-14-3 so far at KeyBank Center, they've been blown out in four of those games by a combined 24-7 score. The Sabres have lost their last three at home, and are 1-4-0 at KeyBank Center since the calendar turned to 2018.

It's not a very good situation to be as eight of their remaining 13 games in February are at home and they just can't seem to get it right in front of their fans.

Tonight's matchup against the St. Louis Blues will be the third game of a five-game homestand and comes against a team that they're 1-7-2 against in their last 10 (2-8-0 at home.) St. Louis sits third in the Central Division and have won five of their last seven games. The two teams met back in December with the Blues coming out on to 3-2 in overtime.

Buffalo will be without forward Johan Larsson who was suspended two games for a crosscheck that rode up the shoulder and into the face of Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trochek. Even though he'd never faced disciplinary action before, the NHL's Department of Player Safety laid a suspension on him. Here's the video and explanation from the NHL:

 

 

"My intention was not to cross-check him in the head," Larsson told the gathered media in KeyBank Center yesterday. "I was trying to go for cross-checking him in the shoulder, chest, and the stick got up in his face."

 

And as for the verdict handed down, Larson said today, "I was kind of surprised I got two games. The guy didn't get hurt or anything. I was a little surprised, but you can't do anything."

 

He will not appeal the ruling.

 

With Larsson missing, it looks like forward Evan Rodrigues looks to get the not at center on the third line. Rodrigues, who has seven points (2g + 5a) in 22 games with Buffalo this year, was a healthy scratch against Florida.

 

Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu has been out of the lineup since going to the ice hard in Calgary after a fight with Flames forward Curtis Lazar. He could be back in the lineup tonight. Meanwhile, defenseman Casey Nelson has been drawing praise from Sabres Phil Housley. "I really like the way Casey's playing," said the coach to the media yesterday. "I think he moves the puck really well, he's defending really well, his gaps are really tight. That's why he remains in the lineup. It's always nice to have a right-hand shot as well.
"You look at his shots from the point, he finds ways to get pucks through to the net. He's uncanny in that way."

For posterity's sake, a list of Sabres home records dating back to their bankruptcy season:

2017-18:  6-14-3
2016-17:  20-15-6
2015-16:  16-19-6
2014-15:  14-22-5
2013-14:  13-21-7
2012-13:  11-10-3 (NHL lockout shortened season)
2011-12:  21-12-8
2010-11:  21-16-4 (the last time the Sabres made the playoffs)
2009-10:  25-10-6 (finished 1st in Northeast Division)
2008-09:  23-15-3
2007-08:  20-15-6
2006-07:  28-10-3 (President's Trophy, Eastern Conference Finals)
2005-06:  27-11-3 (Eastern Conference Finals)
2004-05:  NHL Lockout
2003-04:  21-13-4-3 (owner Tom Golisano's first year)
2002-03:  18-16-5-2 (bankruptcy, team run by the NHL)


 

 

 

 

 

Building the 2017-18 Buffalo Sabres roster--C, Johan Larsson

Published by bockeybuzz.com, 9-12-2017


Johan Larsson
25 yrs. old
5'11" 200 lbs.
2010, 56th-overall (MIN)
Acquired in a trade on April 3, 2013 with the Minnesota Wild

Career stats:  178 games  |  22 goals  |  26 assists  |  48 points  |  -11

At the end of the day on July 1, Buffalo GM Jason Botterill had just finished the arduous task of taking over a new team with a flurry of activity facing him. Botterill was hired on May 11 and had a quick introduction to his new scouting staff while prepping for the draft, had an expansion draft to prepare for, then the 2017 NHL Draft itself and finally onto free agency where he and his staff signed eight players to bolster both the Sabres and the Rochester Americans on the very first day.

After a brief period it was on to making decisions on the many RFA's in the organization which included arbitration for three players--Johan Larsson, newly acquired defenseman Nathan Beaulieu and starting goalie Robin Lehner.

Larsson was the first of the three to settle as he and the Sabres came together on a 2yr./$2.95 million deal July 8.

The stout, 5'11" 200 lb. native of Sweden and captain of their 2012 World Junior gold medal squad (their first since 1981) was a third round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2010 (56th-overall) and came to Buffalo when the Sabres traded away Jason Pominville in . It was a trade that, for Buffalo, began an organization clearing tear-down in a scorched earth rebuild and ironically, Pominville is now back with the Sabres and Larsson is heading into his fifth season with Buffalo.

In 2015-16 Larsson completed his first full season with the club chalking up a career high 10 goals and 17 points and that seemed to be his floor. He was well on his way to taking up those numbers a notch before crashing awkwardly into the boards in Boston on December 31 and dislocating both his elbow and wrist. Surgery kept him out the rest of the season but he should be fully healthy when training camp starts in two days.

In 178 NHL games Larsson notched 48 points (22+26,) which is rather meager, but he does have seven game-winning goals as a Sabre and had 49.1% faceoff percentage last year, which was second on the team behind Ryan O'Reilly (58%) for those taking 250 or more draws. Numbers, however, don't tell the whole story with him.

When he's on his game, Larsson has a very abrasive style of play that grates on the opposition to the point where they end up chasing him around instead of following the play. He's very aware in the defensive zone as represented by his team-high 64.7% d-zone starts and was also used on the penalty kill. In a nod to the offensive side of his game, Larsson was also used sparingly on the powerplay (:28/game) and did manage a powerplay goal.

The knock on Larsson, and why he's in a defensive/checking role, has always been his skating, which he's been able to overcome with smarts and a (junk-yard) dogged determination. How that plays into  Phil Housley's scheme will be determined as the new head coach wants to play an up-tempo style with his defense joining the rush. Housley was hired by the Sabres nearly a full month before they re-signed Larsson to his two-year deal and it would seem as if he has no problem integrating Larsson into his system.

Injuries took away what was promising to be his best season ever and one could surmise that we still haven't seen Larsson's production peak yet. Regardless of that, when Botterill signed off on the deal he looked at the (then) 24 yr. old as an asset. The third-line center position could be up for grabs this year dependent upon how Housley wants it constructed and in the years to come, Larsson will have a couple of players, most notably Rasmus Asplund and Cliff Pu, nipping at his heels for that spot.

That's not a bad thing for the Sabres as ideally Larsson would make for an excellent fourth-line center on a Cup-contending team. And if we see him in that spot, it will mean good things are happening for the forward group.


Building the 2017-18 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Evander Kane / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Benoit Pouliot / C, Ryan O'Reilly / RW, Kyle Okposo
/ C, Johan Larsson /

D, Marco Scandella / D, Rasmus Ristolainen
D, Jake McCabe / D, Zach Bogosian

G, Robin Lehner

A look at Buffalo's three arbitration cases

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-6-2017


A total of 30 NHL players elected for arbitration yesterday. If a contract can't be finalized before their scheduled hearings, both sides sit down and plead their cases to an arbitrator who makes a binding decision on salary. Hearings are scheduled between July 20 and August 4 this year and most are settled beforehand. In many cases player selected arbitration is a way to ensure a contract negotiations don't drag on all summer.

If the two sides do end up at the arbitrator's table things can get contentious as players and their agents espouse their virtues while teams highlight the players' shortcomings. CSN Mid-Atlantic's Chuck Gormley reminded us recently that in 2002, after the Brendan Morrison hearing, then Vancouver Canucks GM Brian Burke had this to say about the process, “After inviting us into the alley, you can't complain if you get kicked in the groin.”

Oh the pugnacity.

Some other examples of rough negotiations pointed out by Gormley, 2015 piece:

--in 1997 then NY Islanders GM Mike Milbury reportedly drove goaltender Tommy Salo to tears by telling his agent he was one of the poorest conditioned athletes he’d ever seen.
--in 2003, the Phoenix Coyotes called Mike Johnson the “worst forward in the NHL”
--during the Canucks/Morrison hearing metnioned to above, at one point during their briefing the Canucks likened Morrison to a mouse who was carried across a river by two elephants, linemates Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund.

In player elected arbitration the team can walk away from the deal if they get a result that's not to their liking. Since 1995 when the system was set up only a handful of players were left at the altar. The first was in 1999 when Boston said no to a $2.8 million award to Dmitri Khristich. Goalie Anti Niemi's case was a big one in 2010 as the cap-crunched Chicago Blackhawks walked away from that $2.75 million decision. Neimi's was one of three cases that year where teams balked as the Atlanta Thrashers said no to former Buffalo Sabre Clarke MacArthur's award and the Sabres themselves walked away from an award to Tim Kennedy.

That was the second time Buffalo had scoffed at a decision. The first time was in 2006 when they said no to JP Dumont's $2.9 million award. Just prior to that then GM Darcy Regier accepted the $5 million an arbitrator awarded forward Daniel Briere which put the Sabres in a bit of a cap-crunch of their own.

The Sabres have some flexibility under the cap for the 2017-18 season, but not too much. As outlined yesterday, if salaries for their roster free agents remain on the conservative side they'll be $8.5 million under the NHL's cap ceiling this year. However, they also need to take into consideration the possibility that $5.5 million could be paid out in performance bonuses to Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart which could reduce it to about $3 million.

Buffalo has five arbitration-eligible restricted free agents with two of them--Zemgus Girgensons and Evan Rodrigues--not headed to arbitration. Girgensons' eventual salary will affect the Sabres cap situation while Rodrigues is probably headed to Rochester for another year of seasoning. That leaves us with the three who are headed to arbitration.

F, Johan Larsson

Why he chose this route is a head-scratcher, unless he simply wants to get this over with so he can enjoy the rest of his summer. Larsson is a good forward and a real good bottom-six center when he's on his game. On a contender he'd be a pesky fourth-line center and he may end up there for Buffalo this year dependent upon how the roster pans out. It's really not a good time for him to be headed to arbitration as he hasn't played since suffering multiple upper-body injuries sustained when he crashed into the boards on December 31 in Boston. Larsson's statistical highs came the prior season as he had 17 points on a career-high 10 goals in 74 games.

Speculation:  Larsson was qualified for just under $1 million by the Sabres to retain his rights. Call it an even $1 million and be done with it.


D, Nathan Beaulieu

In the first trade of his GM career, Jason Botterill acquired the Montreal defenseman for a third round er. The 24 yr. old Beaulieu is a former first round pick (17th-overall) who spent five years with the Canadiens working his way up the ladder. Last season he was placed on the top-pairing with Shea Weber but was eventually dropped to the third pair. Beaulieu is an all situations defenseman who was fifth in overall time on ice for the Habs defensemen last season, sixth in even strength ATOI, although his 28 points (4+24) tied him for third in scoring amongst Montreal's defensemen.

Speculation:  Beaulieu made $1 million last season. It's a new team and a new system where he may be able to really ramp up his production but we're not sure how this will all play out. A $1.5 million deal gives Beaulieu a nice 50% increase and keeps Buffalo happy during this feeling out period.


G, Robin Lehner

This is the big one for Buffalo. The Sabres picked up goalie Chad Johnson to be Lehner's backup, but the good thing about Johnson is that he can play the role of a team's No. 1. It's not ideal, but he can make it work. Lehner is coming off of an escalating three-year deal that averaged $2.25 million/season but paid him $3.150 million last year and that will be their jumping off point as he proved to be a legit NHL starter. In 59 games for the Sabres last season Lehner posted a 2.68 GAA and .920 Sv% while facing the third most shots in the league (1,910.) Montreal's Carey Price set the new bar for goalies as his new deal pays him $10.5 million AAV and others above Lehner in save percentage have cap-hits in and around the $4.2M (Craig Anderson, OTT) to $5.3M (Jimmy Howard, DET) range

Speculation:  One can see Lehner and his agent expecting to land in that range while the Sabres probably want to max out at $4 million or so. Perhaps $4.25 million will be the number they settle at, but it will be interesting to see what Botterill does if an arbitrator puts the number at $5M.

Three in a row for Buffalo after a hard-earned win in Minnesota

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-2-2016


Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Reinhart was getting thumped all game last night, at one point being laid upon in the blue paint by Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk who was unabashed about having a foreigner crash into him. Even though it wasn't Reinhart's fault. Sabres d-man Rasmus Ristolainen took an inadvertent elbow to the nose late in the game after he blasted Wild forward Mikael Granlund into the boards behind the Buffalo net. Ristolainen went to the bench, but the trainers couldn't stop the bleeding in time for him to get back on the ice after a Minnesota time out.

Sabres forwards Ryan O'Reilly, Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson never left the ice for the final 2:34 of the third period with Dubnyk pulled for the extra attacker. Defenseman Josh Gorges was on for the final 1:50 and Ristolainen would have had the same but he was replaced by Dmitry Kulikov who skated the final 1:10. Not because they wanted to be out there the entire time, but because circumstance lead to extended shifts.

During that last 2:34 the forwards were on the ice there were three icings, two timeouts, a number of faceoffs and bodies colliding all over the place, but in the end the Sabres held on for a 2-1 victory. Those on the ice for Buffalo were so weary that they had to catch their breath before congratulating goalie Robin Lehner who was close by in his crease as fatigued as them.

In the end Buffalo came away with their second win in a row on this quick two-game road trip after defeating the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. The Sabres started this three-game winning streak by shutting out the Florida Panthers at KeyBank Center 3-0 in a Saturday matinee.

Three games, eight goals-for, two goals-against and six points in the books for the 4-3-2 Sabres.

The streak and the hard-fought win last night came after two deflating losses at Philadelphia and against this same Minnesota team. Buffalo blew a three-goal, third period lead against the Flyers last Tuesday and lost in the shootout 4-3 then followed it up with a 4-0 shutout loss to the Wild two days later.

"It was gut-check time (late in the game,)" said Sabres bench boss Dan Bylsma to the gathered media post-game. "The guys battled the win out hard at the end."

Props to the Sabres d-corps who saw extended time after defenseman Zach Bogosian left the game with a knee injury late in the first period. Kulikov was a horse logging 27:40 minutes of ice-time. Ristolainen logged 25:12 minutes. Josh Gorges came in at 22:42 while Jake McCabe had 22:21. Defenseman Cody Franson had 15:20.

Bylsma use a variation of the term "gutting it out" numerous times during his post-game interview before having his attention turned to forward Johan Larsson, who had the game-winner last night. A reporter pointed out that it was Larsson's seventh game-winning goal in just over a year and Bylsma acknowledged that "Larry," as he called Larsson, "has a knack for scoring big goals."

"We're trying to scratch out some kind of offense in the third period, trying to push forward and get the win," Bylsma continued, "there's nothing really fancy about him coming up big."

Larsson got a little bit lucky on the play as the pass from linemate Brian Gionta went airborne, but the bunt-goal off the shaft of his stick went by Dubnyk giving the Sabres their 2-1 margin of victory. Ironically enough, Larsson was a Minnesota third-round draft pick in 2010 who came over in the Jason Pominville trade three years ago.

Buffalo has made great strides since their sluggish opening game loss at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. Losing two top-six players like Jack Eichel and Evander Kane right off the bat threw the team off and they played inconsistent hockey until the Florida game on Saturday. Since then they've been getting off to great starts in the first period and took the lead in all three games during this streak. They're playing fast and aggressive from the get-go and using their speed to their advantage.

There's speed up and down the lineup at forward and they're using it to play an up-tempo game that's making it difficult on the opposition. That speed stretched all the way down to the fourth line with the additions of Nick Baptiste and Justin Bailey, two 21 yr. olds drafted in 2013 who've been paying their dues in Rochester. The two wingers joined center Derek Grant, who's pretty quick himself, and made plays up and down the ice last night despite not getting on the scoresheet.

The Sabres third line of Reinhart centering Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons also had a great game and did everything except hit the scoresheet. Most of their time was spent in the Minnesota zone and perhaps that's why Dubnyk, when given the opportunity, gave Reinhart the business when he had the opportunity.

This one was about hard work, however, and it's a trait that's come to the fore ever since those back-to-back losses late last week.

Coming up on Thursday, the Sabres take on the high-flying Toronto Maple Leafs at KeyBank. Rookie Auston Matthews and Company are coming off of a victorious tussle with phenom Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers last night. Neither of the future faces of the NHL scored in the 3-2 Leafs overtime win at Toronto. Matthews registered six shots on goal and has only two goals since his record-breaking four-goal outburst in the season opener.

Building the 2016-17 Buffalo Sabres roster--C, Johan Larsson

Buffalo Sabres two-way forward Johan Larsson was having a rough go of it in the scoring department through the first half of the season. He went scoreless in his first seven games and was without a goal through his first 27. Through 47 games his stat-line read 1 goal, 4 assists and a minus-9 rating.

Although he was doing plenty right during that time, nothing seemed to be working for Larsson as he trudged through a pretty difficult time. However in the latter half of the season he would gain some traction then put together a late season flourish after a move by head coach Dan Bylsma that would have him centering a line of Marcus Foligno and Brian Gionta in February.

Bylsma had been doing a lot of juggling for much of the season trying to find chemistry as well as overcome various injuries that hampered his lineup from pretty much the get-go. It was a period of adjustment for a number of players as well as for himself, but when Bylsma but that trio together for a game at Ottawa, they did enough things well that he kept them together. One game later No. 1 center Ryan O'Reilly went down with a lower body injury at Columbus the next game and Larsson found himself in a shutdown role against the leagues top centers.

Impressions of, and questions concerning--F, Johan Larsson

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


Forward--Johan Larsson
DOB:  July 25, 1992 (age, 23)
Draft:  2010, 2nd round (56th overall,) MIN
How acquired:  Trade with Minnesota, April 3, 2013 
Last contract signed:  2016--1yr./$950k
Final year of contract:  2016-17

2015-16 Stats:  74 games, 10 goals, 7 assists, 17 points, -4


What we wrote preseason:  "Larsson has had to pay his dues while constantly overcoming failures and inconsistencies. It wasn't all that long ago that the team had Larsson in a depth role yo-yoing between Rochester and Buffalo as he was unable to transfer his game to the NHL-level and it wasn't until after the [2015] trade deadline that Larsson finally passed through the NHL threshold."

Head coach Dan Bylsma on Larsson after talking to scouts prior to his taking the reigns in Buffalo--"They liked him a lot. They thought he played a hard, kind of a sandpaper, gritty game. They scouted him as such. That’s what he’s going to bring to the table. Hard to play against, and that’s what he’s got to bring for our team."

What we wrote mid-season:  "he may also have found his place. Like Gionta, Bylsma had him up in the top six but it didn't work out so now Larsson's nipping at the ankles of the opposition on the third line. When he's on his game he's a pest, and when that line is on, they're aggressive on the forecheck, making it extremely difficult on the opposition. And right now, they're on."

Impressions on his play this year:  For the second year in a row, Larsson came on strong in the second half of the season. In 2014-15, he finally stuck with the big club and during the final 17 games of the season he had five goals and added eight assists while centering Matt Moulson and Tyler Ennis on the Sabres top line. This past season he did it again. After being moved all around the lineup for the first half of the season he settled in on the third line centering Marcus Foligno and captain Brian Gionta. Larsson finished the season with 11 points (8g +3a) in his last 20 games and a plus-4 rating.

Bylsma mentioned after a preseason game that he relied on Larsson a lot on the dot, especially in crucial situations. That faith in him spilled over in the regular season and Larsson responded well as he went from a 44% on the draw in 2014-15 to a team second-best (500 faceoffs or more) 51.1% last season. This bodes extremely well for the team moving forward.

Questions moving forward:   How much do the likes of Foligno and especially Gionta contribute to his success? Has he found a home in the bottom-six and can he up his production while remaining chippy? If the Sabres add to the top-six, what does that mean for their line? Will Bylsma keep that line together and drop them to the 4th line as a whole? Can Larsson continue to round out his all-around game?


 

2015-16 Individual Stats--March

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


In going over individual Buffalo Sabre stats for a rather successful month of March, aside from the usual suspects hitting the top three in most scoring categories, there are some notables that made their presence known.

Sam Reinhart has been consistently hitting the scoresheet all season long and joins the ranks of "usual suspects" like Ryan O'Reilly, fellow rookie Jack Eichel and Evander Kane after yet another strong month. Reinhart was his usual quite self while amassing a total of 12 points in 15 games for the Sabres in March. He scored four goals and added eight assists (five of them primary) with only one goal and one assist coming on the powerplay. In the past two months Reinhart has double his production and now has 40 points on the season.

O'Reilly still leads the team in points (58) even though he only played eight games in March because of an injury. He augmented his team-leading assist total (38) by adding six of them last month and chipped in his first goal in 24 games as well. Eichel, who leads the team in goals (23) and is second in points (51) had another strong month registering 10 points last month on the power of six goals and four assists. And before his injury, Kane continued his late-season push with three goals and six assists in 13 games. He's been shelved for the rest of the season.

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has cooled off considerably since the first part of the year, remained in the top-five in scoring despite a sub-par month. O'Reilly, Eichel, Ristolainen, Reinhart and Kane lead the team in points so far this season.

Notes from Montreal. Boston in town.

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


The Sabres pulled out a real good road win last night as they scored three unanswered in the third period for a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. While Montreal was on the second of a back-to-back, Buffalo was coming off of the All-Star Break after a seven-day hiatus. And it looked like it.

Les Habitants swarmed the Sabres early in the first period, at one point holding a 10-2 edge in shots on goal. But as the period wore on the Sabres found their legs, turned the table and by the end of the first the Sabres narrowed the SOG to 12-11 in favor of Montreal but more importantly went into the intermission with a 1-0 lead.

On the Montreal broadcast last night there were a number of occasions where the broadcast team mentioned that the Canadiens were "fragile." Montreal had gone from 17-4-2 prior to an injury to No. 1 goaltender Carey Price and are now 24-24-2 after last night's loss to Buffalo. To those of us who remember "the core" years, the word "fragile" made it into the broadcasting vernacular all to frequently.

Powerless at the F'N Center as an inept 0-4 powerplay dooms Sabres.

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


After winning two games on the road by playing a rather tight game, and scoring some goals for a change, the Buffalo Sabres came back home to the First Niagara Center looking to keep it simple and pounce on opportunities as they faced the Boston Bruins in the first of back-to-back games this weekend.

They kept it simple, alright, to the point where it produced a very blasé game against the B's last night. With Boston invoking a tight-checking game and the Sabres unable to either any speed, the game resembled a Floyd Mayweather fight as it plodded along. Buffalo would throw some shots from the outside, which Boston blocked, but they failed to gain an inside presence which made for a rather easy night for Boston goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.

Boston gave the Sabres four powerplay opportunities but clogged the lane for all eight minutesa allowing very few shots to get through. With the score tied 1-1, the Sabres had three consecutive power plays in less than seven minutes but couldn't score and it was the powerless powerplay that really did the Sabres in last night as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Bruins.

Nice to be on the good side of a meltdown in the 3rd

Check out these quotes:

"We've got to work on closing out games."

"It's always tough loss when you are up with five minutes left in a game and they score two. That shouldn't happen."

"We've got to find a way to score the next goal."

Those were the sounds of Brad Richards, Petr Mrazek and Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill, respectively, lamenting one that got away. It was a familiar refrain to Sabres fans as quotes like those were often found emanating from the Sabres locker room over the course of the last two-plus seasons.

After Richards put the Detroit up 1-0 on a set-up from puck-wizard Pavel Datsyuk the Wings had the opportunity to take a 2-0 lead. Mike Weber slashed Tomas Jurco who was going in all alone on Sabres goalie Chad Johnson and the ref awarded Jurco a penalty shot. It was a good thing for Buffalo as Jurco's been struggling. A healthy scratch for 14 games this season, Jurco went in on Johnson and offered up a cupcake which the goalie gloved.

A light chorus of boos rang through "The Joe" as Jurco's weak offering had many fans shaking their heads. "That's weak sauce," said one fan.

Buffalo hung in there and battled into the third and managed to stifle a Wings powerplay six minutes in as Ryan O'Reilly went off for slashing. The call was on a backcheck as Detroit had a 2-on-1 because of a poor pass at the Wings blue line, one of many passes from Buffalo players that was in their skates.

The Buffalo penalty kill  has been strong as of late allowing only three goals on 25 opportunities or an 88% kill rate. Detroit was never able to establish constant pressure and Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma was able to work in three sets of forwards into the first minute of the PK. Killing that off and keeping the score 1-0 opened the door for some O'Reilly heroics as Buffalo finally broke through.

Sabres win, Briere honored, Miller denies Montreal

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


On a night when former Sabres and Flyers great Daniel Briere was honored for a stellar career in Philadelphia, with nods to his time in Buffalo, it was Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons who left a lasting impression at the Wells Fargo Center.

Girgensons took a chip pass from defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo (who played for Philadelphia last season) and deposited a breakaway goal in overtime to give Buffalo it's third win of the season and first one on the road. It was Girgensons' first goal of the season, and first point of the season and was well deserved. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Z,” said forward Jamie McGinn of Girgensons. “I thought he played a great game. He hustled all over the ice, and he did a lot of good things. There were a lot of plays where he turned a 50-50 puck into a scoring chance.”

McGinn himself garnered his first goal of the season while Colaiacovo, Johan Larsson and Brian Gionta all hit the score sheet for the first time this season. “It’s been trouble for all these games, not just for me,” said Girgensons. “It’s nice for the guys to open up a little bit.”

The Sabres were playing without injured top-line winger Evander Kane who will be out 4-6 weeks and as witnessed by nine players hitting the score sheet, it was a total team effort. "It was a great team win," said Larsson who's two assists made him the only multi-point player on the night for Buffalo. “Everyone battled hard. Every line was rolling. We were shooting, going to the net, so I think this was our best game so far."