Swashbuckling Sabres (sabres)

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Swashbuckling Sabres

By GARTH'S CORNER

Oct 27, 2018 • 11:28 am

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Are the Buffalo Sabres a perfect team?

No. Far from it.

Are the Buffalo Sabres a much improved team?

Yes. The Sabres are a much better team than they were last season and the three seasons before that.

They are 3-2 at home and 3-2 on the road.

In 10 games played, the Sabres have scored 26 goals for while surrendering 28 goals against.

They have flaws in their game that need to be smoothed out, but they are working through it and winning games despite them.

The 2018-19 Sabres are finding their way.

They are always in the battle.

That the Sabres came home with a 3-2 record from a physical demanding five game roadie Western Conference against legit Stanley Cup playoff teams tells you all you need to know about the resilience of the Buffalo Sabres. That they won their first home game in two weeks in comeback fashion after running the gauntlet out west tells me that this team is focused, prepared and is committed to winning.

The Sabres are reminding me a lot of the 2017-18 Colorado Avalanche who shocked the hockey world by going from a 48 point team to a 95 point team from one season to the next.

Remember last season when the New Jersey Devils made a 27 point improvement from 70 points in 2016-17 to 97 points in 2017-18?

Fairytales can come true. It can happen to you.

I said it last April and I will say it again and again. The 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres are every bit as capable of going from the dungeon to a wild card spot as the Avalanche and Devils were last season.

For the first time in a long time, it appears to this observer's eyes that all Sabres players are playing the game the right way. They are listening to their coaches and leaders. They are getting positive results because all players are committed to the same goals.

This team genuinely likes itself. In other words, I have detected a spirit of community and family among the players that frankly I haven't seen since Ryan Miller, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Danny Briere, Jay McKee , Mike Grier, and Chris Drury played here.

Seriously.

These guys really care for one another and it shows in the way that they battle for one another.

Call it the Dahlin Effect.

Call it addition by subtracting Ryan O'Reilly, Evander Kane, Josh Gorges and Robin Lehner.

Call it what you will.

The kids get along with the veterans. There are no cliques. Just a unified group of motivated athletes that are committed to taking the Sabres to the playoffs for the first time in 7 seasons.

Winning is a helluva lot better than losing.

Sabres fans have had to endure the suckiest of losing seasons the past six seasons. In the short term, the losing was depressing and maddening.

Today, the fog has dissipated and the rewards for finishing at the bottom of the NHL standings are starring in this dramatic shift in attitude and great fortunes.

Clearly, the whole is greater than the sum of its unique parts.

Jack Eichel is a point a game player for the Sabres. He was the second overall pick in 2015. Samson Reinhart was the second overall pick in 2014. Rasmus Dahlin was the first overall pick at the 2018 NHL Draft. Rasmus Ristolainen (1st rounder), Jake McCabe (2nd rounder), Casey Mittelstadt (1st rounder), Zemgus Girgensons (first rounder), Linus Ullmark (6th rounder) are all making nightly contributions to the cause of winning.

Newcomers Jeff Skinner, Conor Sheary, Patrik Berglund, Vlad Sobotka, Tage Thompson, Carter Hutton have injected offense and excellent habits into the Sabres nucleus that were sadly lacking last season.

Veterans Jason Pominville, Kyle Okposo, Zach Bogosian, Evan Rodrigues, Marco Scandella, Nathan Beaulieu, Casey Nelson and Johan Larsson have contributed leadership.

Did you know that the 2017-18 Sabres didn't win their six game until Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on home ice.

The 2018-19 Sabres won their six game of the season on October 25.

These are positive signs of growth and development for Phil Housley's upstart Sabres. No need to schedule the Stanley Cup Champions ticker tape parade yet.

However, Eichel and Company have let it be known the opposing NHL teams that the 2018-19 Sabres are not a slam dunk two points this season.

Entering today's game action, the Sabres are currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, just three points behind #1 seed Tampa Bay.

For the first time in a very long time, the Sabres are in the hunt. They are not showing signs of slowing down any time soon.

Phil Housley's five-man-attack philosophy is creating needed primary, secondary and tertiary scoring.

The Sabres are getting offense from all four lines and three defense pairs. Eight different forwards have scored goals. Six different defenseman have already lit the lamp for the Sabres, while others are on the verge.

If you are going to beat the Sabres, you will have to do so by breaking through their improved team defense and stingy goaltending. NHL opponents are quickly learning that this season's vintage of Sabres are not prone to quit when adversity rears its ugly head inside shifts, periods and games.

These Sabres are more resilinet and less likley to self-doubt than Sabres teams of the recent past. When they trail opponents by a goal or two, they are not packing up and getting ready to go home. Not these Sabres. They are staying in the battle and are competing, executing for the duration. In other words, no game is over until the final horn sounds after 60 minutes of regulation play.

For example, on Thursday night the red hot Montreal Canadiens club held three different one-goal leads against the Sabres. Rather than quit and accept the "L" on home ice, the Sabres dug down deep and tied the score.

The Sabres defeated the Canadiens an a Kyle Okposo power play goal late in regulation because their motor never stopped revving. These Sabres are keeping their skate on the gas pedal whil attacing Their is no hesitation nor doubt in their game.

These Sabres are blocking shots, taking hits to make plays, finishing their checks, cleaning the crease, and dropping the gloves when times get rough.

Don't look now, but the Sabres have red hot talent galore in AHL Rochester that is bubbling to the surface.

Jason Botterill's plan is finally coming to fruition. Like the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins template for success, there is internal competition for jobs in Buffalo and Rochester. Botterill's plan is manifesting itself.

We haven't had that spirit here since 2009.

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