Three-game Sabres recap Jan. 14-18

Buffalo bench-boss Ralph Krueger and the Sabres, via general manager Jason Botterill prior to the Vegas Golden Knights game, said that the goal is to win two of three games for a playoff push. Going back to the beginning of 2020, the Sabres had 41 points in 41 games to start the new year and using the Krueger formula, garnering four points per three games would give them 52 points in 39 games for a 93-point total with two games left to play. One of those games is on the road against the New Jersey Devils with the season finale' coming at home against the Philadelphia Flyers, whom they could be battling for a playoff spot.

So far so good in 2020 as they went won two of three in the first three games and replicated it the next three. 

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?'"

Scandella, Girgensons lead comeback in Pittsburgh last night. Training camp closes.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-29-2019


That headline was a fun to write because it will draw the ire from a number of fans in Sabreland who see Buffalo Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella and forward Zemgus Girgensons, among others, as utter deplorables. Having both players score to help Buffalo overcome a 2-0 deficit at Pittsburgh before the Sabres eventual 3-2 win in the shootout was satisfying in a way. About the only thing better would have been for Vladimir Sobotka to score the shootout winner instead of Casey Mittelstadt, which would have a medal-sweep by "The Deplorables." 

Of course, it's only preseason, unless you're talking about 18 yr. old Dylan Cozens whom many believe should have a spot on the Sabres roster based upon one very strong preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Or Rasmus Asplund who performed very well in his role as a two-way forward to the point where a case could be made for him to be in a fourth-line role in Buffalo. Asplund outperformed fourth-line/depth players on the Sabres as well as Mittelstadt and there was a groundswell calling for Mittelstadt to be cut and Asplund up with the big club. Both Cozens and Asplund would be welcome faces to replace a group we've seen plenty of the past two-plus seasons. And they will be in Buffalo, just not now.

As we head towards the final cuts this year, fans in Sabreland are tired of seeing the likes of Scandella, Girgensons, Johan Larsson and Vladimir Sobotka on the team and would gladly throw the likes of Mike Card and Michael Funk in there if just for a change of faces. Last year young players Alexander Nylander and Tage Thompson were pined for as replacements for some in that group even though Nylander wasn't ready. Nor was Thompson, as we found out after watching him for a couple months.

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.

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--F, Zemgus Girgensons

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-30-2019




Forward--Zemgus Girgensons DOB: January 5, 1994 (age, 25)
Draft: 2012 1st round (14th-overall)
How acquired: Drafted by Buffalo
Last contract signed: August 17, 2017, 2yr./$3.2 million
Final year of contract: 2018-19 (RFA with arbitration rights)

2018-19 Stats:  72 games | 5 goals | 13 assists | 18 points | -11| 13:37 ATOI

Buffalo Career Stats:  420 games | 49 goals | 70 assists  | 119 points | -52 | 14:52 ATOI

What we wrote preseason:  Girgensons right now is best suited in a fourth line energy role with the way this edition of the Sabres is constructed and that he has a good chance of succeeding in that role while also being a part of Buffalo's penalty kill.

After being benched for two games last season, Girgensons came back and earned a promotion to the top-six, according to Housley, with the coach saying, "He was just tenacious on the forecheck, really physical, demanding the puck, making the right decisions in the neutral zone and just brought a really good energy to our team,” This preseason has been a continuation of that and there's no reason to believe that he won't continue that in a fourth-line role.

Of note: Since 2013-14, the Sabres have had 16 players score shorthanded goals and only six have scored multiple. Girgensons leads them with six shorties.

What we wrote mid-season:  One of the two mentioned above (in full-go compete mode) is Girgensons, who's been anchoring the fourth line nearly the entire season. You'll never get shorted in the effort department with the former first round pick (2012, 14th) and he does great work on the forecheck and along the wall. A disconnect between his head and hands (sometimes his feet as well) along with bouts of tunnel vision keeps him from producing as much as he could. Girgensons has a really good shot and his will gets him to advantageous spots on the ice, however he's had trouble capitalizing on his opportunities. For the fist time since he hit the ice as a rookie it seems as if the "Latvian Locomotive" has a defined role as that of a checker and penalty killer. From the start of the season Girgensons has been a big part of a fourth line that coach Phil Housley has called the team's best line on many occasions and he's also been on the top-unit of a penalty kill that is top-five in the league.

Impressions on his play this year:  Count me as one who thought early on that Girgensons could be that hard-working power forward with leadership qualities and a strong, lunch-pail work ethic who'd also be a top-six/nine contributor. That, obviously, hasn't panned out.

It's hard to believe that he just completed his sixth full season with the club. Girgensons is the longest continually tenured Sabres player on the team and it should be pointed out that those six seasons are the worst stretch this franchise has ever gone through. On numerous occasions the struggles of the Sabres were directed towards players that have been with the team the longest and who've known nothing but losing. Yet, blaming a fourth-liner in that regard is a tad harsh, especially when he was in a well-defined defensive role (84.7% d-zone starts) for head coach Phil Housley last season. 

Girgensons played his role well while helping to anchor a fourth line that many times were considered the best line on the ice. He also led Buffalo's forwards with 2:23 ATOI on a Sabres penalty kill that finished 12th in the league. That said, good NHL teams have defensive forwards who not only do that but also produce and Girgensons' 18 points (5+13) needed to be better.

Questions moving forward:  What does GM Jason Botterill think of Girgensons? Who will be the new head coach? Would Girgensons' fifth coach be the charm? Do the Sabres think Girgensons was worth $1.6 million in a purely defensive role and will they qualify him for that this off season? Where might he end up if he doesn't stay in Buffalo? Would he be better suited to a Western Conference, north-south style of play?

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.

Notes and thoughts after the Sabres 4-3 OT win over Los Angeles

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-12-2018

This is how we do it

The Sabres five-game losing streak is over. Or if you may, their winless streak is over as Buffalo managed a loser-point in two of those losses. Getting back in the win column was huge for the team especially while playing the type of up-tempo, Corsi-heavy game head coach Phil Housley prefers. Housley's charges got up and down the ice and pumped a total of 47 shots on goal against Los Angeles to the Kings' 27 shots. Overall the Sabres pumped 74 shots at Kings rookie goaltender Calvin Petersen while Los Angeles managed a total of 48 against Buffalo goalie Linus Ullmark.

A rather cold Sabres powerplay also came through for them as they went 2 for 8 in the game on a total of 11:33 seconds of powerplay time. Having the Rasmi--Rasmus Ristolainen and Rasmus Dahlin--at the point really helped as Ristolainen was at the top of a 1-3-1 set-up with Jack Eichel on the left half-wall and Dahlin on the right. Eichel and Dahlin peppered the Kings with shots, which was a good sign even if it was against the league's 29th-ranked penalty kill, with Eichel finally breaking through. Buffalo's other powerplay goal came in overtime as Jeff Skinner poked home a puck in the crease for his 21st goal of the season.

Ristolainen picked up the primary assist on both of those goals.

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.

Sabres breakout with 9-2 win over OTT, face NY Rangers tonight

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-4-2018


It started early yesterday afternoon for the Buffalo Sabres with a pregame, feel-good celebration of Jason Pominville's 1000th NHL game, which actually occurred against Ottawa on Thursday prior to the first game of their home-and-home with the Senators. The Sabres and the KeyBank Center crowd saluted Pominville with a pre-game celebration and the team hit the ice some adrenaline.

After a choppy start the Sabres began to pick up the pace with a terrific shift by their third line played mostly in the Ottawa zone and a minute later Rasmus Ristolainen dropped a long stretch pass to Jack Eichel who went in on a breakaway with a head of steam creating some oohs and ahs from the hometown fans. Although no goals were produced, the momentum was clearly in Buffalo's favor and the third line broke through with a goal by Kyle Okposo off the rush five minutes into the game.

The Sabres would tack on two more goals--one by Jeff Skinner and another by Pominville--and left the first period with a 3-0 lead.

Buffalo continued to pour it on in the second period as Skinner scored again and Zemgus Girgensons scored his first of the season :13 seconds later to make it 5-0. After Ottawa got on the board, Pominville answered with his second of the game only :29 seconds later and Conor Sheary made it 7-1 with this blast :42 seconds after that:

(via NHL.com)

Patrick Berglund and Casey Mittelstadt finished off the scoring for Buffalo.

Sabres and Amerks looking for fresh start...in Game-2 of the season

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-6-2018


Perhaps Keith Wozniak of Let's Go Amerks said it best when he tweeted earlier today, "Happy Saturday morning!! A good day to relax, maybe get some errands done, eat a good dinner at home and pretend it's a new hockey season starting tonight in Rochester and Buffalo."

Opening night for both the Buffalo Sabres (Thursday) and their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans (Friday,) wasn't too kind for Western New York hockey fans as the Sabres were shut out by the Boston Bruins 4-0 and the Amerks lost to the Charlotte Checkers (CAR) 6-2. Good news for the Amerks is that despite there being much higher expectations on them heading into this season, they apparently weren't booed off of the ice like the Sabres were.

One similar theme that has to be troubling for both teams is that after training camp, preseason and practices leading up to their openers, they weren't prepared for opening night. Buffalo's Conor Sheary was quoted by WGR550's Paul Hamilton as saying that they weren't ready for what the Bruins were going to bring. This despite the fact that the Bruins weren't in a very good mood after getting drubbed 7-0 the previous night on national TV. Rochester captain Kevin Porter told the local media after their loss that, "We were not ready to play."

And for all the talk of having great practices with speed and intensity? It didn't translate for either team when it was for real.

Not sure what was up with that but both the Sabres and the Amerks will have an opportunity for redemption tonight as they continue with their season-opening homestands. Over in Rochester the Amerks will once again host the Charlotte Checkers while some 70 miles west as the crow flies on I-90, the Sabres are hosting the NY Rangers.

As for Buffalo, they'll be facing a Rangers team that opened the season with a 3-2 loss at home to the Nashville Predators and although it's not like facing a decidedly better Bruins team coming off of an embarrassing loss, the Rangers still have goalie Henrik Lundqvist and a good cast of characters. Buffalo is 3-5-2 in their last 10 vs. the Rangers, 0-2-2 in their last four and haven't beaten NY since January 3, 2017 (4-1 win at Madison Square Garden.)

Perhaps the big question for the Sabres tonight is, "who's gonna step up?"

The 4-0 shutout at the hands of the Bruins left little to like although some players played well. Sam Reinhart had a strong game pushing it to the net while the Sabres fourth line of Evan Rodrigues, Zemgus Girgensons and Jason Pomiville was the best and most consistent line for the club. Both Rodrigues and Pominville had golden opportunities but were denied by the quick left pad of Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak.

Both 18 yr. old Rasmus Dahlin and 19 yr. old Casey Mittelstadt had good games. Dahlin, the first pick in last year's draft had his skills on display but also had some rookie mistakes, which is to be expected. Mittelstadt came off of a middling preseason and started on the third line but looked good enough to get bumped to the second line when head coach Phil Housley did some line juggling in the third period.

Some of that juggling took hold as this might be what the top-six looks like tonight:

Conor Sheary-Jack Eichel-Reinhart
Jeff Skinner-Patrik Berglund-Tage Thompson

Mittelstadt once again is in a third-line role centering Girgensons on the left and veteran Kyle Okposo on the right. Girgensons played a solid north/south game and worked the walls well. He got bumped up after Vladimir Sobotka landed on the injured list with an upper body injury. He's listed as day to day.

Here's what Housley told the gathered media today about putting "Z", as he called him, up with Mittelstadt. "I thought in that (preseason) game against Toronto, a big environment with [John] Tavares playing, we had to make some tweaks and when I put "Z" up there with him I think [Mittelstadt] settled down."

Replacing Sobotka in the lineup is former Dallas Stars winger Remi Elie whom the Sabres claimed on waivers. He'll be on the left on the fourth line with Rodrigues and Pominville.

Word from the rink also has Housley sticking to his d-pairings of Marco Scandella/Rasmus Ristolainen;   Jake McCabe/Dahlin;  Nathan Beaulieu/Casey Nelson.

And, it looks as if starter Carter Hutton will once again be in net. Hutton looked  very good in his first start for Buffalo but was the victim of defensive breakdowns, one of which lead to a wide open Zdeno Chara waltzing in and firing a superb shot that beat him on the short side.

The good thing for Buffalo is that they're playing a Rangers team that doesn't have the impenetrable lockdown capability of the Boston Bruins. However, they're a very fast team that has a good amount of skill. And they have Lundqvist. The Sabres have had difficulties beating any goalies--from starters to backups, from hot to average--over the past seven seasons and they're going to need to find a way to get on the board early to open up some ice.

Housley said his message yesterday to the team was that they did a lot of good things right, especially early on and that they need to keep building on that.

The Sabres were off today save for some meetings. Perhaps the best way to approach tonight's game was to let Thursday go and get a fresh start tonight as they don't want to start the season in an 0-2 hole.


*****

One quick note:

Amerks defenseman Lawrence Pilut had a goal and an assist in his North American debut and was named the game's third star. According to Wozniak, Pilut "improved as the game went on."

That's a good sign for the organization.

Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster--The Fourth Line

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-24-2018


An injury to left winger Conor Sheary may end up affecting the opening night roster as will play from rookies up-front like Alexander Nylander, Tage Thompson and Rasmus Asplund. The roster built here thus far has a couple of rookies down the middle flanked by seasoned veterans and if that were to occur, the Sabres would have to make a difficult choices on players they'd need to expose to waivers after filling out the roster. Should Sheary miss the opener on October 4, that would open up a spot as would the probability of a waiver-exempt Asplund being sent to Rochester, which opens up another spot.

However, since the roster here has been built as such, we're going to continue to build it and lay out the fourth line.


C, Zemgus Girgensons
24 yrs. old
6'2" 211 lbs.
2012, 14th-overall (Trade-up with Calgary)

Career stats:  348 games | 44 goals | 57 assists | 101 points | -41

It's the type of move that many in Sabreland will hate simply because Girgensons has gone from a hard-working, fan-favorite who looked promising in a top-nine role to the guy who's often seen falling on the ice and missing what few opportunities he and his linemates generate. Add in that he was the guy who got tangled up with Jack Eichel the day before the 2016-17 opener which sent the superstar to IR and also that "Gus," as he's known, is the longest continuously-tenured Sabres player and has known more losing than any other player and you can understand why many want to move on from him.

Girgensons started as an 18 yr. old in the AHL, hit the Sabres the following year and was with Buffalo for both tank years. As the Sabres added talent, his stock dropped and he was found mostly in the bottom-six the past three seasons. Yet during those three years both coaches--Dan Bylsma and, now, Phil Housley--moved him around from line to line, position to position. What we've learned from it all is that Girgensons right now is best suited in a fourth line energy role with the way the team is constructed now. And he should succeed in that role while also being a part of Buffalo's penalty kill.

After being benched for two games last season, Girgensons came back and earned a promotion to the top-six, according to Housley with the coach saying, "He was just tenacious on the forecheck, really physical, demanding the puck, making the right decisions in the neutral zone and just brought a really good energy to our team,” This preseason has been a continuation of that and there's no reason to believe that he won't continue that in a fourth-line role.

Of note:  Since 2013-14, the Sabres have had 16 players score shorthanded goals and only six have scored multiple. Girgensons leads them with six shorties.


LW, Scott Wilson
26 yrs. old
5'11" 186 lbs
2011 seventh round (207th overall,) PIT
Acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings, December 4, 2017

Career stats:  172 games | 19 goals | 27 assists | 46 points | -20

The Sabres were really struggling last season and despite a 6-15-4 record through the first two months, GM Jason Botterill did nothing. After watching his team look like Bantams against the Pittsburgh Penguins in back-to-back games to start December, Botterill pulled the trigger on a trade for Wilson sending a fifth round pick to the Wings for a player he knew well.

Botterill had been with Pittsburgh when they selected Wilson in 2011 out of UMASS-Lowell and watched him turn into a point/game player at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2015-16, his second AHL season. Wilson got the call to Pittsburgh that year and responded with five goals and an assist in 24 games. He played three games for the Pens in the playoffs and got his name on the Stanley Cup. The following year he played in 78 regular season games for the Pens and 20 in the playoffs and had his name etched on the Cup again.

Botterill said of Wilson when acquiring him, "Scott is a hard-working, young player that will be a great fit for our club. As a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, his experience will be an asset both on and off the ice."

Wilson signed a two-year contract extension with the Sabres and is yet another player that can move up and down the lineup. He's in Buffalo for a reason and one would have to believe he'll be in the starting lineup come October 4.


Vladimir Sobotka
31 yrs. old
5'11" 189 lbs.
2005 fifth round (106th overall,) BOS
Acquired from the St. Louis Blues, July 1, 2018

Career stats:  463 games | 47 goals | 108 assists | 155 points | -4


It's been a long journey for the 31 yr. old Sobotka, one that includes now three NHL teams and professional contracts that had him play on two different continents in the middle of his career as he bolted to the KHL after becoming a restricted free agent in 2014.

Sobotka was drafted as an excellent skating, high-energy player that could play sound defense, was proficient on the dot and could get physical. He could also score a bit and he was as advertised his first few seasons in St. Louis. When he went to the KHL, he played more of a scorer's role and upon returning to the Blues, he felt that's how he'd fit in. His versatility had him playing up and down the lineup last season and he responded with a career-high 11 goals. 

After a workout this summer Sobotka, who can play all forward spots, stopped and chatted with Viktor Maudr about the trade to Buffalo and where he expects to play. He told Maudr, "I think I don't care. I'm more involved in the game when I play center. I'm on faceoffs and also play more with the puck. On the other hand, when I play wing, I have more time and space with the puck. I don't prefer one more than the other." The discussion continued about where he'd play in the lineup and he responded, "I've come back from the KHL to confirm that I'm a guy for the second or third line. I definitely won't play on the fourth line."

Sobotka has shown well in the preseason playing in all situations, scoring a goal and adding an assist in his first outing against Pittsburgh then playing over 21 minutes at Toronto, which was tops amongst forwards that game. Buffalo could easily switch around Jason Pominville and Sobotka on the right side of the bottom-six and dependent upon how the rest of the preseason plays out (with injuries and such,) Sobotka could end up playing center. He said in the Maudr interview that he prefers the right side, but the bigger question might be how he envisions himself within this lineup and if he can accept a role that might not be to his liking.


All-in-all, no matter how the bottom-six shakes out, the three player mentioned here give the Sabres plenty of versatility at forward as they can play center or wing and/or can move up and down the lineup.


Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Jeff Skinner / C, Casey Mittelstadt / RW, Kyle Okposo
LW, Patrik Berglund / C, Rasmus Asplund / RW, Jason Pominville
LW, Scott Wilson / C, Zemgus Girgensons / RW, Vladimir Sobotka

LHD, Marco Scandella / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen
LHD, Rasmus Dahlin / RHD, Zach Bogosian
LHD, Jake McCabe / RHD, Casey Nelson

G, Carter Hutton
G, Linus Ullmark

Impressions of, and questions concerning--F, Zemgus Girgensons

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-1-2018


Forward--Zemgus Girgensons
DOB:  January 5, 1994
Draft:  2012 1st round (14th-overall)
How acquired:  Drafted by Buffalo
Last contract signed:  August 17, 2017, 2yr./$3.2 million
Final year of contract:  2018-19

2017-18 Stats:  71 games | 7 goals | 8 assists | 15 points | -12 | 13:43 ATOI
Buffalo Career Stats:  348 games | 44 goals | 57 assists | 101 points | -41 | 15:08 ATOI


What we wrote preseason:  Housley has given Girgensons first crack at landing a spot in the top-six on a wing with Ryan O'Reilly and Kyle Okposo. Girgensons' trials and tribulations under former head coach Dan Bylsma have been well documented as had been his 15-goal season prior to Bylsma coming to Buffalo.

Girgensons has the will and desire to make a difference in the top-six, but any offensive acumen he may have had seemed to get lost under Bylsma. A golden opportunity is right in front of him, and the only question is, does he have enough offensive acumen to stick in that top-six role?

What we wrote mid-season:  Normally a player with only one goal and three assists in 28 games would be way down the list, but after being a healthy scratch, Housley gave Girgensons a shot in the top six and he's doing his part. The points still aren't there, and they may never be, but he's working the corners and is the net-front presence Housley wants him to be. The O'Reilly/Okposo/Girgensons line represents some big bodies that can skate pretty well and they have some chemistry, at least for now. Perhaps the bubble will burst and Girgensons will be in the bottom-six again, but for now his work up-top is one of the reasons Housley's able to roll three lines.


Impressions on his play this year:  Who knows what will happen with the "Latvian Locomotive" this off season. Girgensons had one good season of 15 goals and 15 assists in 61 games but has proven to be a single-digit goal-scorer who will take over 100 shots and hit on around 6.2%. It's been that way for the past three seasons.

Yet "Gus" is loved by many Buffalo fans. What he lacks in skill he brings in honest, hard-working play on a daily basis which is the antithesis of what we've seen from Sabres players who are far more talented. Girgensons and Larsson are almost interchangeable save that the latter spent nearly all of his time at center. Both are signed for one more season and this team really shouldn't be looking to keep both if they want to upgrade their bottom-six. One would be OK and of the two, Girgensons would probably be tradeable at this point for a mid-lower round pick for the right team.


Questions moving forward:  Will his reign as the longest continuously tenured Sabre remain intact this off season? Will his skill catch up enough with his will to get him into double-digit goals for the first time in four years? Is there a team another team that can use his grit and hard work moreso than Buffalo?




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

Highs and lows from last night, overtime woes, one-goal games and other notes

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-7-2018


If you're a fan of extreme emotional swings, then last night's Anaheim Ducks/Buffalo Sabres game may have suited your fancy. From the Sabres Zemgus Girgensons scoring a shorthanded goal to open the game to Anaheim's Adam Henrique scoring the winner in overtime, the high's and lows for those in attendance at KeyBank Center and those in Sabreland watching

Girgensons goal was a strong effort that saw him take a shot on goal then drive hard with a follow-up that banked in off of former Sabres goalie Ryan Miller. It was Girgensons' seventh goal of the season and the Sabres sixth shortie of the season, tying them for third in the league. However, the Ducks Rikard Rakell would tie the game early in the second period  as his five-hole backhand was initially stopped, but trickled through a sliding Robin Lehner whose right pad pushed it in the net.

The teams traded goals and left the second period tied 2-2.

Then midway through the third period, Lehner scored on a tip off a shot from Ryan O'Reilly. Unfortunately for Buffalo, it was in their own net. With a scramble going on just outside the crease in front of Lehner and the Ducks packed in tight, O'Reilly tried to do what he's done hundreds of times throughout his career, get out of trouble by dumping the puck behind the net. The initial reaction was that his dump went top-shelf behind Lehner. Upon replay, O'Reilly's clearing rode up Lehner's stick and into their own goal.

Yet, redemption was on the horizon as O'Reilly scored the game-tying goal with Lehner pulled and only 14.5 seconds to play sending what was left of the crowd in a frenzy.

The stage was set in overtime for a dramatic win.

At 1:15 into overtime, Sabres d-man Rasmus Ristolainen had the puck in his own zone and had his eyes on a streaking Jack Eichel headed up-ice with tons of open space. But he missed him by 10 feet and the Ducks gained possession. Less than a minute later Henrique whistled a wrister by Lehner from just inside the Sabres blueline.

Such was the night for Buffalo. And such is overtime.

It's amazing that a team with the likes of Eichel and O'Reilly, Ristolainen and Evander Kane are now 3-9 in overtime. Similarly, it was hard to believe that a team that finished first-overall on the powerplay last year would sink to 30th for the majority of this season.

The Sabres powerplay was abhorrent early in the season and may have cost them some valuable points along the way. As of late they've gotten their act together as evidenced by a beautiful play last night with the man advantage. O'Reilly won the draw and the other four Sabres all touched the puck with Sam Reinhart making a tip pass to a wide open Eichel who scored his 21st of the season. Last year Eichel scored 10 of his 24 goals on the powerplay this year he has only three.

The Sabres corrected that as of late. Prior to a road date in Edmonton last month, the Sabres were ranked 30th converting on a paltry 20 of 123 chances (14.0%.) They've scored on seven of 20 opportunities since (35%) and are 26th in the league at 16.6%. Granted, Buffalo is only 2-3-1 since beating Edmonton, but at least it's one aspect of the game that they've improved considerably upon.

In addition to the nine games Buffalo has lost in overtime this season, the Sabres have lost one in the shootout, another eight games by one goal and on nine occasions Buffalo was down by one goal in the third period with the goalie pulled, but allowed at least one empty net goal. In essence the Sabres were in 27 one-goal games when you add in the games they gave up an empty-netter.

They're 14-29-10 on the season with 38 points.


*****

Ristolainen is the goat of the game last night despite the fact that nearly a minute transpired between his missed pass and Anaheim's goal. No doubt Henrique's shot was quick, hard and accurate, and yes the three Sabres surrounding him--Eichel, Reinhart and Ristolainen--could have taken away more space, but that's a shot from far out that normally is stopped and Lehner should have had that one.

Puck possession is key in overtime, but puck retrieval, when the opportunity arises, is even more important. In the :51 between Ristolainen's egregious overshoot of Eichel and Henrique's goal, the Sabres had two opportunities to get the puck back and both involved Reinhart. The first one he lost a battle with Ryan Kessler who fanned on a shot in the circle to the right of Lehner and on the second one he was outsmarted by Jakob Silfverberg along the wall in the Buffalo zone.

Ristolainen's missed pass/turnover was pretty bad, but if you want to bail out your teammate, sometimes ya gotta work a little harder.


*****

Defenseman Casey Nelson continues to impress. He has all the tools--skating, stickwork, hockey sense and puck-moving ability--that Housley wants out of his defensemen. In nine games this year Nelson has an assist and is a minus-3 but doesn't look out of place at all.

With Zach Bogosian out and Jake McCabe's status uncertain after going down to injury last night, Nelson should be up for an extended look which is good for him and good for the team.


*****

Girgensons short-handed goal was his second in three games and his second of the season. The "Latvian Locomotive" had one shortie in 2013-14 and lead the team with three in 2014-15. Under Dan Bylsma the following two seasons, Girgesnsons did not have a shorthanded goal. His six goals on the season in 48 games places him one behind his seven goals in each of the last two seasons (71 and 75 games, respectively.)

The maturation process of a team and of their future leader

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-28-2017


Over the last couple of seasons the most dreadful in-game thought for Sabres fans was the team heading to the shootout, especially with Robin Lenher in net. Lehner has had an unusually difficult time with the skills competition and one would think it's a good thing that the Sabres haven't been to the shootout this season since opening night at home against the Montreal Canadiens, which, of course, was a loss.

However overtime has been almost as much of a problem for this team as the shootouts are. Since pulling off a split in overtime during a four-day span back in October—a 5-4 loss at Las Vegas and a 5-4 win at Boston—the Sabres have now dropped their last six overtime decisions including last night’s 3-2 OT loss in Brooklyn vs. the NY Islanders. Lehner has been in goal for four of them including back-to-back losses at Chicago and at St. Louis.

 

Getting to overtime has been a small victory for this club and based upon what we saw of this team early on, the optimist in me might say that this team has made great strides in just being competitive enough to get it to that point. Yet the pessimist would (and should) say that it's not good enough.

 

Yet both sides would be right.

 

The Sabres had an awful time through the first two months of the season going 6-15-4. Through December they've tightened things up and have a 3-5-4 record thus far with one more game to go. Since getting blown out in the first two games of the month, the Sabres have had six one-goal games, but have finished only 1-1-4 in them. 

 

Buffalo has been playing decidedly better as of late but scoring woes continue to be their downfall. That includes improving upon their league-worst 2.16 goals/game and making them count in crucial situations, especially in overtime, as winger Evander Kane will attest to. He had an overtime breakaway thwarted at Carolina vs. the Hurricanes and was stopped from in close last night on a glorious opportunity in the extra session.

 

It seems like a never-ending series of hurdles for the club this season and it seems as if it takes a long time before each can be cleared.

 

Perhaps we can chalk it all up to a learning process as this franchise tries to shake two bottom-dwelling seasons and is trying to learn how to win. Buffalo is on the right track to win much more than it did the first two months of the season. However, with Kane as a pending unrestricted free agent and Lehner's name popping up in trade rumors, they may end up having fall back down again before they try to pick themselves up.

 

Such is the process.

 

 

*****

 

The maturation process of Jack Eichel is unfolding right before our eyes on this abysmal season. The franchise center whom Buffalo tanked for in 2015 seems is starting to figure out just what kind of an impact he can have on the game, and it's impressive.

 

Eichel, an offensively gifted player with a sick release, has been criticized for loafing on the ice and not playing well defensively. That's changed lately. It seems as if every game he's hitting turbo-boost on the back check and disrupting odd-man rushes in a way that completely surprises the opposition. It happened last night on the powerplay when Rasmus Ristolainen stumbled and fumbled at the Islanders blueline early in the second period and coughed up the puck. Eichel hit the after-burners and caught the Islanders Casey Czikas on a breakaway and disrupted him just enough that the shot went wide past Lehner.

 

His offense is still there and improving. Eichel has 33 points, second only to Kane's 34 on the team, and in his last five games he has nine points (5+4.) He had a hat trick in one of those games against the Hurricanes and completely flustered that team in the process. And he distributing as well. In the last two games Eichel has set up Zemgus Girgensons for a goal.

 

Girgensons has been having an awful time ever since Ted Nolan was relieved of his duties as Buffalo's head coach back in 2015. Against the Hurricane's in the game prior to the Christmas break, Eichel set up Girgensons in what looked like a designed play off a faceoff in the Carolina zone. Last night a deflected shot from the point went to Eichel behind the net and Girgensons planted himself in the crease for the redirect.

 

There's no doubt that Girgensons has been having a rough go of it these past couple of seasons. At once he was thought of as a top-six/top-nine forward but as things went along he fell to more of a fourth-line/defensives specialist role. Although he won't be confused with a bona fide top-six player, Girgensons has been doing good things up there and Eichel is making him a better player.

 

Most felt as if this would be Eichel's team once he was drafted with the second-overall pick in 2015. Where once it was an assumption that turned into more of a question, Eichel's play as of late has it looking more definitive as his maturation process takes hold.

 

 

'Gus' returns. It's Buffalo at St. Louis tonight

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-10-2017


Buffalo forward Zemgus Girgensons was benched for the last two games. And rightfully so. It's been 19 games since the 6'2" 207 lb. forward has scored a point. October 14, to be exact when he scored a goal at Los Angeles vs. the Kings. "I wasn’t performing at my best," was how 'Gus' put it to the gathered media yesterday in St. Louis.

Girgensons went on to say that his play "wasn't good enough" and that he could ."work harder."

"Definitely the production isn’t good enough," he continued, "and the work ethic can be harder, I know that and everyone has seen from me that I can be better."

It didn't take a rocket scientist or long-time hockey person to figure out that Girgensons wasn't doing much of anything on the ice during games, or even at practice, and that's why Buffalo coach Phil Housley sent him to the press box for the last two games. “I thought this was one of his best practices in a long time," said Housley yesterday, "so we’ll make that decision tomorrow, but it’s good to see him with a little jump in his step and controlling the play in the small game area and he brought some good energy today.”

Interesting to note that a report pointed out how the team wasn't "down in the dumps" at practice after blowing a late lead and losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime on Friday. "We just talked about our preparation and execution beforehand and everyone being accountable for each other," said the coach.

"I thought there was a lot of life and a lot of energy out there and really quick puck movement," continued Housley, "and we've got to continue work on that as far as the fundamentals go because it's part of our execution up ice."

The Sabres are going to need a lot of energy and execution as they take on the league's second best team in the St. Louis Blues who are coming off a 6-1 pasting of the Detroit Red Wings last night. It's a team that hasn't been to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1970, the season before the Sabres, and the Vancouver Canucks, became a part of the league.

Like the Blackhawks, the Sabres have had nothing but trouble playing St. Louis. Buffalo is 1-8-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Blues and 1-6-3 on the road. The Sabres haven't beaten the Blues in St. Louis since December 27, 2009. Buffalo's Tim Connoly and Mike Grier had two goals and an assist each while Patrick Lalime stopped 32 of 35 shots in the Sabres 5-3 win. Jochen Hecht scored the other goal for the Sabres.

The Blues come into tonight's matchup sixth in the league in scoring with 99 goals with a league-leading 24 coming from their defense. Conversely the Sabres have scored a league-low 62 with only one goal coming from the defense corps, which is also dead last in the league.

Housley did a little juggling with his lines yesterday with Girgensons on a line with center Johan Larsson and Hudson Fasching.

Fasching played the last two games with Ryan O'Reilly and Benoit Pouliot but was dropped down while Kyle Okposo was moved up to that line.

According to reports, these were the lines yesterday:

Kane - Eichel - Pominville
Pouliot - O’Reilly - Okposo
Wilson - Rodrigues - Reinhart
Nolan - Larsson - Fasching

Defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Zach Bogosian both sat out practice yesterday for maintenance days. Ristolainen played over 30 minutes for the second consecutive games, the first player to do so since Dmitry Kalinin in 2004, according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, and Harrington sites Elias Sports Bureau as saying no Buffalo Sabres player has ever played 30 minutes or more in three consecutive days.

A maintenance day indeed.


Game time is 7 pm.

What to make of the Sabres line shakeups at practice today. (Beniot Pouliot, Seth Griffith)

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-1-2017


The Buffalo Sabres finished preseason with a 1-4-1 record. They scored 12 goals and allowed 20 against. Not the greatest numbers even if you factor in that the fact that there's a new coach, new system, some new faces and a huge chunk of players who won't be seeing NHL ice again this year.

Buffalo coach Phil Housley went into training camp trying to find some chemistry and used various forwards playing in different spots on different lines. The only definitives up-front came in the top-six with Ryan O'Reilly once again centering RW, Kyle Okposo, Evander Kane on C, Jack Eichel's left wing and Housley's insistence on forward Sam Reinhart moving back to the middle. Reinhart had spent most of his two-year career playing on Eichel's right wing.

Housley's designs up-front have changed as he tries to find the right chemistry between linemates, some worked real well for a time but fizzled while others didn't seem to mesh much at all. When he placed Zemgus Girgensons on the O'Reilly/Okposo line, they were a force but their play as a line dropped off. Same with Jason Pominville on the Eichel/Kane line.

In the Sabres final preseason game Girgensons and Pominville began the night in those spots but were moved off their respective lines in the third period. Both ended up on the third line with Reinhart as their center. Matt Moulson was given a shot next on O'Reilly's left wing while Seth Griffith joined Eichel and Kane with the latter trio making some serious waves in the third.

Jourdon LaBarber reported from today's practice that Buffalo hs a slightly different top-nine from the way they finished Friday night vs. the NY Islanders:

Benoit Pouliot-O'Reilly-Okposo
Kane-Eichel-Griffith
Girgensons-Reinhart-Pominville

It's a top-nine that makes a lot of sense at this time, especially if Housley is hell bent upon keeping Reinhart at center.

Sabres GM Jason Botterill signed Pouliot in the off season as a reclamation project. The 30 yr. old former first round draft pick (4th-overall, MIN) is coming off a season in Edmonton that was labeled as "horrendous" with his play being called "beyond awful." The Oilers bought out the remainder of his two-year contract at an AAV of $4 million and Botterill brought him aboard.

If these lines hold true for the opener, it represents a golden opportunity for Pouliot to revive his career. Fact is, O'Reilly and Okposo have such great chemistry that all the other winger needs to do is play off of them and/or get them puck and barrel towards the net. "I think he's a guy who can play anywhere in that two, three, four hole," said Botterill of the Pouliot signing. "It's going to be a matter of how he comes in and how he performs. You look at his size and his ability to get on the forecheck, we just think he's a guy that could complement our centers well and be a guy who can sort of get his career back on track.

"If you look at Benoit's history, in situations where he's had a difficult season he's been able to bounce back strong. That's what we're looking for from him coming into Buffalo here."

Girgensons had a shot and looked great in the first couple of games with O'Reilly and Okposo but fizzled out by the final preseason game. "The Latvian Locomotive" still has a lot to give and could be a great forechecking force for Reinhart and Pominville, while the 34 yr. old Pominville will be able to use his veteran savvy to not only find open space, but to also mentor Reinhart on the finer points of playing in the NHL.

If ever there was an opportunity for Griffith to finally transfer the scoring prowess he enjoyed in the AHL to the big leagues, now's the time.

Housley praised Griffith's play on the third line against the Islanders and gave him a shot with Eichel and Kane. The trio, all of whom possess speed, worked the offensive zone as if they'd been together for a while. Although they weren't able to capitalize they hit the zone with speed and did some nice cycling to the point where eventually they'll start producing.

The 24 yr. old Griffith had a 77 point season with the AHL's  Providence Bruins (BOS) in 2015-16 but hasn't been able to do much at the NHL-level. In 58 career games Griffith has only 16 points (6+10.)

With Reinhart occupying the third-line center spot, Johan Larsson got bumped down to the fourth line and with veteran Jacob Josefson looking as if he'll center that line, Larsson's been pushed out to the wing.

Moulson, Larsson, Josefson and recent waiver-claim Jordan Nolan are all looking to land in the opening night lineup.

Buffalo opens up the season on Thursday with a home game vs. the Montreal Canadians.

Building the 2017-18 Buffalo Sabres roster--The Fourth Line

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-21-2017


There are a lot of variables that need to play out in the top-nine before a fourth line can be established, most notably what coach Phil Housley wants to do with Sam Reinhart. Moving him to center would push Johan Larsson down a spot which and with Jason Pominville moving into Reinhart's spot in the top-six, a third-line right wing spot is open.

What Housley does with another forward will also dictate what happens on the fourth line.

LW, Zemgus Girgensons
6'2" 207 lbs.
23 yrs. old
2012, 14th-overall
 
Career stats:  277 games  |   37 goals  |  49 assists  |  86 points  |  -29

Housley has given Girgensons first crack at landing a spot in the top-six on a wing with Ryan O'Reilly and Kyle Okposo. The 6'2" 207 lb. native of Latvia has the speed and will to get the forecheck going and once he gets the puck on his stick along the boards, the opposition can't get it away from him.

Girgensons' trials and tribulations under former head coach Dan Bylsma have been well documented as had been his 15-goal season prior to Bylsma coming to Buffalo. All that has been changed now with Housley behind the bench. In Buffalo's first pre-season game against Carolina, Girgensons skated 18:38 with three of the line's eight shots on goal. Although they didn't hit the score sheet, that line spent an abundant amount of time in the offensive zone.

"I thought that line was terrific," said Housley post game to the gathered media. "They provided a lot of energy. When we needed a big shift, they gave it to us, they changed the momentum of the game."

Housley also pointed out that they had a lot of looks, however that line failed to hit the scoresheet.

Girgensons has the will and desire to make a difference in the top-six, but any offensive acumen he may have had seemed to get lost under Bylsma. A golden opportunity is right in front of him, and the only question is, does he have enough offensive acumen to stick in that top-six role?


C, Jacob Josefson
6'0" 196 lbs.
26 yrs. old
2009, 20th-overall (NJD)
Signed by Buffalo in 2017.
 
Career stats:  276 games |  18 goals |  42 assists  |  60 points  |  -17

A Reinhart move back to center will directly affect Jacob Josefson as it means he's probably in the pressbox.

Josefson was signed by the Sabres in the off season as a depth move as GM Jason Botterill and were not sure what we have yet in him. The 26 yr. old center was labeled "an enigma" by Amanda Rosko of The Hockey Writers back in November, 2015. She wrote that he "exhibits a solid skill-set" but lacks "physicality and finish" and goes on to perpetuate the curious case of Jacob Josefson when she writes, "the mystery continues when a person examines Josefson’s shootout record and ability. When number 16 takes the ice for the Devils, it is almost automatically assumed that he will beat the oppositional goaltender regardless of whom it is when the game goes beyond 65-minutes. He excels and stands out in the skills competition."

The past five seasons Josefson has gone 11/20 (55%) in the shootout and is tops in the league over that period for players with 20 or more shootout attempts. The Sabres were 25th in the league scoring at a 22% rate (6/27) last season.


RW, Matt Moulson
33 yrs. old
6'1" 203 lbs.
2003, 9th round (263rd-overall, PIT)
Signed by Buffalo to a five year FA contract in 2014

Career stats:  636 games  |  176 goals  |  193 assists  |  369 points  |  -33


Forward Matt Moulson has had a rough for the better part of his three seasons in Buffalo as he's not been able to regain his 30-goal form from his time with the NY Islanders.

Moulson's first season in Buffalo was promising as he totaled 41 points (13+28) on Buffalo's top line for an offensively inept Sabres team. However he's had trouble in the two seasons since. In 2015-16, under Bylsma, he fell down the depth chart in large part due to improper off-season conditioning. He came back in much better shape, and with a renewed desire last season, but was relegated to powerplay specialist status as 11 of his 14 goals came with the man advantage.

He has two years left on his contract with a $5 million cap-hit. Buying him out would have been impractical this season but next year may be a different story.
Moulson is a great guy, who even took rookie Jack Eichel into his home to help him adjust. However, the speed of the game may have passed him by.


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
LW, Evan Rodrigues / C, Johan Larsson / RW, Jason Pominville

D, Marco Scandella / D, Rasmus Ristolainen
D, Jake McCabe / D, Zach Bogosian
D, Nathan Beaulieu / D, Victor Antipin

G, Robin Lehner
G, Chad Johnson


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Sabres preseason begins tonight vs. CAR. Lineup + storylines

Published by hockeybuzz, 9-18-2017


The Buffalo Sabres open up their preseason with a visit from the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. As with every preseason opener the ice will have a number of youngins that went through training camp and will get a taste of the NHL before being sent to their proper developmental leagues. A handful of vets will be on hand to work through the game and one can bet there will be a surprise player or two that will pique our interest.

This morning the Sabres held a intrasquad scrimmage featuring some four-on-four action, a little three-on-three and two shootouts. The shootout portion was interesting as each team had five pucks at center ice and when the whistle blew they sent a player towards the net. If the player scored he headed to the bench and the next player grabbed the another puck at center ice. If the player didn't score he had to retrieve the puck and bring it back to center ice before his teammate could take the next turn. It was fun to watch save for the center-ice camera which couldn't keep up even when the players were at opposite parts of their shootout.

Those playing in the scrimmage this morning will not be playing tonight and that included names like Jack Eichel, Evander Kane, Marco Scandella, Nathan Beaulieu, Jason Pominville and Victor Antipin. But there will be plenty of intrigue as the Sabres ice this lineup (from sabres.com):


28 Zemgus Girgensons - 90 Ryan O'Reilly - 21 Kyle Okposo
67 Benoit Pouliot - 23 Sam Reinhart - 52 Stevie Moses
49 C.J. Smith - 51 Kyle Criscuolo - 95 Justin Bailey
25 Seth Griffith - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 59 Cliff Pu

45 Brendan Guhle - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
19 Jake McCabe - 27 Taylor Fedun
8 Casey Nelson - 38 Cody Goloubef

40 Robin Lehner
35 Linus Ullmark

New head coach Phil Housley talked to the gathered media today and said that 19 yr. old Cliff Pu "earned a game tonight due to a strong Prospects Challenge Tournament. Pu will be skating on a line with former London Knights winger Seth Griffith and according to Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com/sabres.com, the Knights open up their season on Friday so it looks like a one-and-done for him with Buffalo.

Also intriguing is Zemgus Girgensons on the top line with Ryan O'Reilly and Kyle Okposo. As has been mentioned before, there's a big hole on the left side after Evander Kane and Girgensons gets first crack at landing it. The former 15-goal scorer was moved down the lineup by former coach  Dan Bylsma but as was pointed out by Jon Vogl of The Buffalo News, "Botterill included him on the seven-forward protected list, then signed Girgensons to a two-year, $3.2 million contract in August."

And now Housley's giving him a whale of an opportunity on tonight's top line. "It's new coaches, new management, so I think it's fresh start for everyone," Girgensons said in HarborCenter. "You can't come in thinking that you have a spot. You have to prove it in the practice, off the ice, so I think it's good for everyone."

As we take a look at the defense, I'm sure there are Sabres fans drooling at the Rasmus Ristolainen/Brendan Guhle pairing, as this could be a glimpse into the future. Guhle has been having a extraordinary camp and is pressing hard for a spot with the Sabres on opening night. Both can get up ice and look to be ideal fits for the way Housley wants his team to play. Ristolainen is 22 yrs. old and Guhle is only 20.

Sam Reinhart is at center as Housley wants to get a good look at him in his natural position. If he move there for good, that opens up a huge opportunity on the right of Eichel and Kane. Pominville looks to get first crack at that during the preseason which means a third-line spot will be open. Free agent Stevie Moses and 2013 second-round draft pick Justin Bailey are looking to impress tonight while Hudson Fasching and Nicolas Baptiste skating tomorrow night.

Taylor Fedun, who had a very solid 27-game stint with Buffalo last season seems like exactly the type of strong skater and puck-mover Housley wants on his blueline and former second round pick Cody Goloubef is simply looking to land a job. The right-shot d-man attended training camp on a tryout as is the only player skating with the team who doesn't have a contract.

The game is radio only.

Zemgus Girgensons re-signs as Pittsburgh's reportedly looking for No. 3 center.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-18-2017


There might not be a correlation between the news that Buffalo forward Zemgus Girgensons re-upped with the Sabres on a 2yr./$3.2 million contract and the Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly looking to trade for a No. 3 center, but the timing is certainly interesting.

Girgensons went into this off season as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights but opted to forgo the process. One by one Sabres GM Jason Botterill slowly signed his free agents, which included avoiding arbitration with three players, leaving Girgensons as the only player left to be signed. Yesterday Buffalo announced that the two sides came to an agreement.

It's been rough and rocky travelling for Girgensons over the course of the last two seasons. The former first round pick (2012, 14th-overall) went from being a top-line center under Ted Nolan during the Sabres bottom-dwelling 2014-15 season to an afterthought under Dan Bylsma the last two seasons and in the process went from 30 points (15g + 15a) in 61 games to 34 points (14+20) in 146 games.

Coaching seemed to play a big part in those numbers taking a huge dive as Nolan was a "work hard and good things will happen" kind of coach while Bylsma was more of an X's and O's coach. Girgensons plays a north/south power game that has him driving the net and working the puck in the corners which was perfect for Nolan's "just work hard" philosophy. Things changed, however, when Bylsma came aboard.

Many who follow the Sabres closely were left with the impression that Girgensons couldn't execute in Bylsma's structured system and therefore was relegated to a lesser, bottom-six role. As he floundered in the new system his ice-time decreased and so did his overall production.

Bylsma is gone now and was replaced by Phil Housley. A two-year deal for Girgensons may or may not be significant although it's a year longer than what he signed for when Bylsma was the coach meaning perhaps this regime wants to give him more of a look than a one-year, "show me" contract.

Or it could be an inviting contract for a team like the Pittsburgh Penguins who are said to be looking for a No. 3 center.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins lost a key player in third line center Nick Bonino, as well as veteran center Matt Cullen, and they're looking to trade for a replacement for one of them. According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, GM Jim Rutherford wants to trade for a No. 3 center but will remain patient. "There's a couple of guys I could acquire right now," he said. "I feel like there's another group of guys that could possibly be available here soon. Kind of just waiting to see if that happens. Something could happen in the very near future or this could drag on for a little while."

Buffalo's Botterill came from the Penguins organization and was Rutherford's right hand man. The two worked together to build the back-to-back Cup champions and one could assume that they keep in touch. Botterill should have a pretty good idea as to what Rutherford is looking for, and what he could get in return, as he was instrumental in building the Penguins. And it's possible that "the two guys" Rutherford "could acquire now" are in the Sabres organization.

Girgensons could be that guy although his projected ceiling may have dropped down to a top-nine slot at best. At 23 yr.s old he's still young, just entering his prime, but he's also been subjected to mass turnover in Buffalo to the tune of three GM's and four head coaches. He has the versatility to play wing or center and although his offensive instincts seem to be limited, if he finds himself with open ice around the net, he can finish. He skates very well, is defensively responsible and can man the penalty kill.

Another possibility is Johan Larsson.

Larsson is a different player than Girgensons. He's slower on his skates but always seems to be around the puck and if he's not around the puck, he's around the action playing punk against the opposition. The 25 yr. old Larsson also played third-line center for the Sabres during Bylsma's two-year tenure and was making strong progress until he was lost for the season on Dec. 31 of last year.

According to CapFriendly, the Penguins have $3.2 million in cap-space right now meaning either Girgensons' $1.6 million or Larsson's $1.475 million hits would fit right in.

Botterill now has all of his players signed and has used 44 of his 50 pro contracts. The Sabres are $6.92 million under the NHL's $73 million cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly, which gives him plenty of maneuverability.

Whether that maneuverability includes a deal with his former team remains to be seen, but it was rather interesting that the Girgensons announcement and the article on the Penguins desires came out within a day of each other.