Blue Jackets Game Preview: #3 Buffalo Sabres

By William Espy

The Columbus Blue Jackets move from a disappointing home-and-home series against the New York Rangers to an interesting matchup against the Buffalo Sabres. While the Sabres are unlikely to be even close to a playoff spot by the time it is set and done, they offer a mix of talent that is sure to pack a punch in years to come.  Led by rookie sensation Jack Eichel, the Sabres feature a young corps consisting of defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen, Mark Pysyk, and Jake McCabe as well as forwards Sam Reinhart, Evander Kane and Marcus Foligno. 

The Sabres have started off fairly slowly, as they are currently 0-2-0 following losses to the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning. However the Sabres lost more than just points already this season; it was announced that goaltender Robin Lehner, who was acquired from the Senators this offseason, will miss 6-10 weeks with a high ankle sprain which occurred in the season opener against Ottawa. Captain Brian Gionta will likely be back in the lineup for the Sabres, which gives them another offensive threat. 

SABRES PROJECTED LINES:

These lines were used in the Sabres’ practice on Sunday morning which gives good reason to suggest they will start the game with them.

90 Ryan O’Reilly – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 63 Tyler Ennis

9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 12 Brian Gionta

26 Matt Moulson – 22 Johan Larsson – 82 Marcus Foligno

44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn/23 Sam Reinhart

4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen

6 Mike Weber – 46 Cody Franson

25 Carlo Colaiacovo – 3 Mark Pysyk

45 Brendan Guhle – 65 Matt Donovan

31 Chad Johnson

50 Nathan Lieuwen

Key Players: 

15 Jack Eichel:

Eichel is a superstar in his rookie year, much like Connor McDavid of the Oilers. He currently has a single point (a goal), however he will be a large part of the offensive picture.

46 Cody Franson:

Franson is yet to make an impact on his new team, so far posting a large donut on the point category as well as a horrific -4 rating.

The Blue Jackets have also been struggling as of late after throwing away what would have seemingly given them a 1-0-0 start to the season against the Rangers followed up by a disappointing start to the game on Saturday, however the Jackets believe they know what is wrong and how to fix it.

While Todd Richards experimented with some new line combinations on Saturday and will likely change them prior to the start of the game on Monday, they currently are expected to remain the same as previous games.

JACKETS PROJECTED LINES:

20 Brandon Saad – 19 Ryan Johansen – 71 Nick Foligno

38 Boone Jenner – 17 Brandon Dubinsky – 18 Rene Bourque

43 Scott Hartnell – 25 William Karlsson – 13 Cam Atkinson

11 Matt Calvert – 9 Gregory Campbell – 40 Jared Boll

27 Ryan Murray – 58 David Savard

51 Fedor Tyutin – 7 Jack Johnson

4 Kevin Connauton – 47 Dalton Prout

72 Sergei Bobrovsky

30 Curtis McElhinney

Key Players:

72 Sergei Bobrovsky: 

Bobrovsky is a top goaltender in the league when he is on his game, however a lack of defensive help and possible rust is prohibiting him from reaching that level. If the Jackets are going to win, he needs to be at his best.

7 Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson has a large amount of personal issues reaching national media at this point of time and it appears to be negatively impacting his game. He isn’t helping at all in the offensive zone and has been playing very subpar defensively. The Jackets will need him to step up on the blue line and be a leader for the young defensemen.

Goaltending Matchup:

The goaltending matchup is a bit of an interesting one, it will likely be the struggling Sergei Bobrovsky facing off against the backup turned starter Chad Johnson

Bobrovsky: Save Percentage .830, GAA 4.90

Johnson: Save Percentage .875, GAA 3.30

Keys to Success: #30 The Buffalo Sabres

Welcome to “Keys to Success” a series in which I will discuss the biggest needs of each team, not only for the present but also the future. This series will go in a different order than most, I will start from the bottom of the regular season standings from the previous season and work my way up to the President’s Trophy winning New York Rangers. Today we look at #30 The Buffalo Sabres.

By William Espy

 

The Buffalo Sabres have had a very interesting off-season under GM Tim Murray. The addition of Ryan O’Reilly and then subsequently signing him to a massive questionable contract will help the team at least in the short run. The issue there may come in a few seasons when names like Ristolainen and Eichel need a big contract. Speaking of Eichel, much like O’Reilly he will be a main part of the Sabres forward core for quite a while.

NEED #1: RELIABLE GOALTENDER

This need was also addressed to an extent in the off-season, Murray acquired G Robin Lehner (as well as forward David Legwand) from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for the 21^st overall pick in the 2015 draft (Colin White). This does not completely solve the problem though. Lehner can be a solid goaltender and has potential to be an elite net-minder at some point in his career, however along with his flashes of brilliance come his horrifying defeats. He is wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is only twenty four years old which leaves him much room to grow. Odds are Lehner will breakout with the Sabres and have many successful years, but it is too early to say he will be their next Ryan Miller. The Sabres need a reliable backup plan in-case the worst is to happen with Lehner.

NEED #2: TOP DEFENSEMAN

The top defenseman they need is likely already in their system. With players like Bogosian, Ristolainen and even Pysyk, the Sabres are primed to have a top defensive core for years to come when they finally reach their prime. However, if you look at teams who have been winning Cups they all have their #1 guy defensively. Chicago has Keith, LA has Drew Doughty and before those two started trading Cups; Boston had Chara and so on. If Buffalo is going to be a Cup winning team, they also will likely need one. Ristolainen seems like the most likely option to break out and take that role, however don’t count out people in the system like McCabe.

Overall, the Sabres have a deep prospect pool, a few solid top six forwards and a very young defensive core. With these additions, they could easily be a top team in the NHL for many years.

Buffalo Sabres 2015-16 Season Preview

By Alex Hobson

2014-15 LEADING SCORERS

Tyler Ennis (20 G, 26 A, 46 A)
Matt Moulson (13 G, 28 A, 41 P)
Brian Gionta (13 G, 22 A, 35 P)

LAST SEASON

The 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres season went exactly as expected. In the middle of a rebuild, nobody expected them to be good, and they weren't. They decided to trade lots of players at the deadline for draft picks, and their first major move came approximately a month before the trade deadline when they sent Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Brendan Lemieux, Joel Armia, and a 1st round pick in 2015 to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, and Jason Kasdorf. That same day, they dealt Jhonas Enroth to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Anders Lindback and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2016. After this came several depth moves, including dealing players such as Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn to the Montreal Canadiens for draft picks, and trading Michal Neuvirth to the New York Islanders for Chad Johnson and a 3rd rounder in 2016. Their final move before the deadline came when they dealt Chris Stewart to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a second round pick in 2017.

After finishing dead last in the league with a poor record of 23-51-8, the Sabres had the highest chance at winning the draft lottery in the famous Connor McDavid sweepstakes, but many fans would come to be disappointed after losing the draft lottery to the Edmonton Oilers. However, this sadness would not last very long, as the Sabres possibly had the best consolation prize in hockey, by virtually earning the player who was presumed to go second overall in the draft in Jack Eichel, who had similar skill ability to McDavid. After this came a long wait through the NHL Playoffs until the offseason, when the Sabres could finally get to work on their future.

OFFSEASON

IN

Ryan O'Reilly
Jamie McGinn
David Legwand
Robin Lehner
Matt Donovan
Cal O'Reilly
Bobby Sanguinetti
Carlo Colaiacovo
Evan Rodrigues

OUT

Mikhail Grigorenko
Nikita Zadorov
J.T Compher
Matt Hackett
Zac Dalpe
Matt Ellis
Tyson Strachan
Andre Benoit
Andrej Meszaros
Anders Lindback
Patrick Kaleta

The first move of the Sabres offseason seemed like a very minor one and went somewhat unnoticed. Shortly after the draft lottery, the Sabres signed undrafted forward Evan Rodrigues to a contract. The significance of this signing? Rodrigues was Jack Eichel's linemate at Boston University, so it seemed like GM Tim Murray was already preparing for a long future with Eichel. About two months later, it was draft day, and the Sabres were already working the phones to initiate huge trade for the organization. The Sabres traded youth players Nikita Zadorov and Mikhail Grigorenko, along with prospect J.T Compher to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn in an effort to boulster their offense for the upcoming season. Shortly before that, they dealt their second first rounder to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Robin Lehner and David Legwand, in an effort to secure a potential starting goalie. Then once the draft hit, Murray took to the stage and announced the selection of Jack Eichel, to no one's surprise, and this would mark the end of major moves for the Sabres. On free agency day, they let go of several players including Andre Benoit and Anders Lindback, and added lots of depth, such as players like Matt Donovan and Bobby Sanguinetti. The Sabres offseason was looking complete, and with Jack Eichel now signed to his entry level deal, things were looking up for the Sabres.

NEXT SEASON PT 1. OFFENSE

The Sabres' offense is looking a lot better than it did the previous season. With the additions of Ryan O'Reilly and new draft pick Jack Eichel, they could look to light the lamp a little bit more than they usually do. Look for the offense to be led by Tyler Ennis, Matt Moulson, and Evander Kane, with secondary scoring from O'Reilly and Zemgus Girgensons. Also watch for Jack Eichel to make an impact in his first NHL season.

NEXT SEASON PT 2. DEFENSE

If you're looking for a word to describe the Sabres defensive core, an appropriate word would be young. They will likely be lead by Rasmus Ristolainen and Zach Bogosian, both under the age of 26, with veteran help coming from Josh Gorges and Carlo Colaiacovo. Look for rookie Jake McCabe to make a serious push for the lineup this year.

NEXT SEASON PT 3. GOALTENDING

The Sabres have had lots of different goaltending options over the past two years, considering in 2013-14 they dressed a whopping total of nine goalies over the season, but it looks like this year they finally found their starter. Robin Lehner will look to claim himself a secure starting job over the 2015-16 season, with Chad Johnson backing him up.

POSSIBLE 2015-16 OPENING NIGHT LINEUP

Evander Kane - Ryan O'Reilly - Tyler Ennis
Matt Moulson - Jack Eichel - Brian Gionta
Marcus Foligno - Zemgus Girgensons - Jamie McGinn
Nic Deslauriers - David Legwand - Cody McCormick

Zach Bogosian - Rasmus Ristolainen
Mark Pysyk - Josh Gorges
Mike Weber - Jake McCabe

Robin Lehner
Chad Johnson