That being said I have come up with a list of 10 bold predictions I would definitely bet on coming true for the Sabres this season.
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Connor McDavid and Eichel will be forever linked by going 1-2 in the 2015 draft and this is their night, with Eichel skating in Buffalo and McDavid officially suiting up for the Edmonton Oilers for the first time in their game at St. Louis.
First games usually come with jitters and Eichel said it won’t be any different for him. “Rob Blake could’ve given me a 10-minute talk and I probably wouldn’t have heard a word he was saying just because the nerves and the adrenaline and the excitement of playing your game”.
Former Otter Ryan O’Reilly and fellow forward Evander Kane will play a key role in how quickly the Sabres develop as a team this season. Murray paid a hefty price to bolster his forward group. Murray dealt fan-favorites like Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, and nearly every other notable player that laced up the skates for Buffalo. “They want to score and I want to save it, so it’s going to be fun”.
As mentioned, Murray purged his d-corps to bolster the forwards and unless something remarkable happens, they could be in for a rough season. No one expects him to maintain that pace, but can he step in as a regular National Hockey League goalie if Craig Anderson gets hurt, or was he a one-hit wonder?
“The core is back, and we still have that feeling from previous year around us”, says Bobby Ryan, eager to atone for a personal season-ending slump that belied the Senators late push. The team is looking pretty good, but the situation on the blueline has me expecting another trade at some point, especially when the team’s top two defensemen in Josh Gorges and Zach Bogosian have had problems the last few seasons staying on the ice (both are now injured). And with it comes one more responsibility: determining how not to let it get to him. With the offensive firepower Tim Murray amassed, the up-tempo game Bylsma will employ and the speed with which this team will attack, visions of the 2006-07 “Ferrari Sabres” will be dancing in fans’ heads. “That’s kind of the first thing when you get to camp, you realize that”. The Sabres are primed to be better than expected and with the improved coaching they are sure to get from Bylsma could be this year’s Calgary or Colorado (although hopefully their success will be more sustainable).
To conclude, I don’t think the 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres are going to run away with the Atlantic Division like the 2013-14 Avalanche did with the Central Division. The Red Wings of course lost Babcock but that isn’t their biggest worry, their three best players are 34 or older and they may finally see their playoff streak end. The Bruins just sent away two of their best young players in Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton and appear in disarray.
“My first shift I missed a breakaway pass because I was so nervous and I would have been gone”, a smiling Kane said of his 2009 debut for Atlanta against Tampa Bay.
“I have a lot of history there, a lot of good friends”, Lehner, who is scheduled to face his former team, told the Sabres’ official website.
When the Avs went on their unexpected run a couple years ago, Semyon Varlamov produced terrific numbers in net.
Okay, so technically this question will be answered at the culmination of the season, but Jack Eichel’s production IS another question for the Sabres heading into the upcoming season.
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While we won’t know the Sabres final roster till 5 pm Tuesday, it has looked in the preseason that Sam Reinhart needs just a little more seasoning before he’s quite ready.
