Ek's NOTE: We have Four Exceptional voices left in our Sabres Writer search. This Week I asked them each to write one more piece and I will be doing a zoom interview with each, and finally a winner will be crowned!

Game Preview: Sabres at Rangers

The New York Rangers are playing host to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Here’s what you need to know before puck drops at Madison Square Garden:

Season Series:
Krueger: (1-1-1), Granato (1-2-1). Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin have run rampant over the Sabres in this series with the latest chapter in that story being written on Sunday. Zibanejad had a hat trick, which brings his total amount of hat tricks on the season to three. The Breadman, meanwhile, has 10 points against the Sabres in 7 games this season. On the Sabres’ side, Sam Reinhart has 8 points in 7 games against the Blueshirts and it doesn’t seem to matter what position he was playing on any given night. He has gotten points partly playing center and partly at wing.

Play It Again, Sam:
Viewers at home have no doubt gotten used to the familiar format of back-to-backs this season, or in some cases back-to-back-to-back-to-back, as in the case of the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators. Those two clubs are in the back half of a four-game series which has seen each team win a game. The Sabres have not played four games in a row against a division opponent this year though they have played three in a row against the Bruins and the Islanders. COVID-19 dealt a tough hand to the NHL as the only league of the four major sports with multiple teams that play in Canada but playing the same six or seven teams (depending on division) has gotten tiring. If variety is the spice of life, we are eating gruel. Hopefully the 2021-2022 season sees the league return to inter-divisional play. On the plus side, Buffalonians may be attending Toronto Blue Jays games at Sahlen Field this summer which would be great for the residents of Western New York.

Better the Second Time:
Granato’s squad generally fares better in the back half of a series this year. Going back to the end of march, the Sabres have won the final game of their series against the Flyers, Rangers, Penguins and Bruins. One of the major problems of Krueger’s coaching style was his inflexibility and unwillingness to try different things in the face of endless losing. With wins in the last game of those four series, it seems that Granato is making adjustments to the style of play to match his opponents’ moves. It would be nice to win the first game too though.

In the Nets:
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (UPL) has never lost an NHL game. May his fortune continue. Granato has now twice elected to play UPL on the back end of a series to allow him to see the opposition from the pine before putting him in the crease. Seems like a solid idea. At the other end of the ice, Igor Shesterkin went against the Sabres in the game. Shesterkin has the better of the stats between he and Alexandar Georgiev and the Rangers are in the hunt, so it’ll be interesting to see who the Rangers opt to play. Random note here: One major disappointment of the Hutton era (among many) is that he never got an empty-net goal. For all the criticism thrown his way, that man can really play the puck. He got close a couple times but never put one home. Thought he’d get one at some point.

Bagel Facts:
They say the secret to the famous New York City bagel is the taste given by the city water. I have no idea if that’s true.
Tim Horton’s should bring back garden vegetable cream cheese.

Insider Trading:
In March, Elliotte Friedman said on the podcast “The Lead Off” that the Rangers had called the Sabres over the summer regarding a potential Jack Eichel trade and that “there was an offer on the table I understand was pretty reasonable.” New York Media obviously took this and ran with it. It’s understood that the TSN insiders and the NHL insiders at large always speak as vaguely as possible – often they come off sounding like Nostradamus – so that they are never wrong. Here’s an insider tweet from the future: “I’m told that if a deal between the Sabres and Sam Reinhart isn’t reached by arbitration then it’s unlikely they sign a long-term deal.”
The problem with speaking so vaguely is that at some point they risk carrying the water for an organization either knowingly or unknowingly. The fact that Friedman said “I understand (it) was pretty reasonable” really tells us nothing. Who told Friedman it was reasonable? If it was the Rangers, well of course the Rangers would say it was reasonable. It would make no sense for the Sabres to say that because they wouldn’t want it known they were listening to offers on Eichel (whether they were or not). Further, he said he “understands” the trade was reasonable, therefore essentially admitting he doesn’t even know what the proposed trade was! He’s taking the word of those passing the information along. Drives me nuts.

Prediction:
Granato’s team is better in the last game of a series and at some point Panarin and Zibanejad have to cool off against the Sabres (right?!). This will all depend on whether Luukkonen can hold up to the snipers on the Rangers side. Cross your fingers and hope for the kid. 4-2 Sabres.

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