The Buffalo Sabres finally ended their unfathomable playoff drought last, doing it in grand style by winning the Atlantic Division with 109 points, the third-highest point total in franchise history.
It was exhilarating, it was wonderful, it bonded western New York the way all hockey playoff runs do, and now it’s over. A new season is upon us, and the Sabres begin it tonight in Columbus.
In speaking to reporters Wednesday before the team flew to Ohio, coach Lindy Ruff said, "We've had meetings and talked about that we're not going to surprise anybody. Nobody's going to take us for granted. We're going to get a lot of respect for the year we've put in. But I think teams around us have improved, which, at the same time is going to make it more difficult
than it was last year.”
He’s not wrong, especially given that the Sabres play in what is very likely the toughest division in the NHL where any one of Buffalo, Florida, Tampa Bay, Boston or Toronto could ascend to the top spot by season’s end.
Sal Maiorana will be covering select games throughout the season and that starts tonight. Follow along right here for live updates throughout the game.
Sabres give new defenseman contract extension
One of the players who the Sabres acquired in the offseason, defenseman Louie Crevier from the Chicago Blackhawks, has reportedly agreed to a four-year contract extension on the eve of the season opener. The figure appears to be $4 million per season for a player who is being counted on to help Buffalo overcome the player he was traded for, Bowen Byram.
Mattias Samuelsson expected to play, Olen Zellweger won't
Samuelsson was on the injured reserve list when the Sabres put out their initial 23-man roster the other day because of a foot injury suffered when he blocked a shot in a preseason game, but he appears ready to go for the opener. Zellweger, who the Sabres signed as a free agent from Anaheim, suffered a concussion in the preseason and he will not play.
This means the expected defensive pairs will be Samuelsson with his regular partner Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power with newcomer Louie Crevier, and the third pair will be some combination of Zack Metsa, Mark Grzelcyk and Dennis Gilbert who was recalled earlier in the day from the Rochester Amerks.
As for the forward lines, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic tweeted out the combinations from the morning skate:
Tage Thompson centering Josh Norris and Shane Doan; Noah Ostlund centering Zach Benson and Jack Quinn; Ryan McLeod in the middle of Peyton Krebs and Konsta Helenuis; and Sam Carrick between Jiri Kulich and Beck Malenstyn.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Sabres vs Blue Jackets score, updates from the season opener
