Oct

5

In around 2 hours, the hockey season will again begin for the Buffalo Sabres! This is the moment that every fan has been looking forward to since May 19th. It would be ridiculous to continue focusing on the obvious, but the fact remains that a lot of key players from the past two seasons are no longer Sabres. Fortunately, Jochen Hecht was named captain for at least the month of October. His somewhat soft-spoken appearance during interviews channels into the qualities of a great leader on the ice, and he can easily fill the role that he has been given. Everyone seems to be looking forward to this season, although expecting another record-breaking one is a little ambitious. Cautious optimism is probably the best route to go, although most of us will be simply crazy tonight!

There are a lot of well-thought previews posted around the internet, which have provided a touch of realism. Meaning the Sabres pretty much kill their opponents during season openers at home. The Islanders did make some off-season changes that might shake up Buffalo a bit, but judging by the Sabres’ preseason games, tonight should continue to feed off that energy. NHL.com has an Islanders-Sabres preview with many facts and figures about tonight’s matchup. Ales Kotalik is expected to miss tonight with an injured knee, but Lindy Ruff assured the press that this is not a long-term injury, and he will most likely return this weekend or early next week. Many of the younger players are looking forward to starting up another season, which brings us to tonight’s keys to winning.

* Power Play Unit: The Sabres saw a lot of opportunities generated by special teams during the preseason, and they showed a lot of talent. The power play has struggled during the last few seasons, and starting off on the right foot is exactly how to begin a new season. Just hope at least one defenseman is out there to cover up for the almost guaranteed mistakes.

* Offensive Opportunities: Playing defense has taken up too much time during some games, and may have cost the Sabres a win in one or two preseason games. Along with those opportunities comes the actual object of the game: Scoring. Rick Jeanneret had better be going nuts tonight, or something is wrong!

* Useless Penalties: Roughing up a Crosby-type guy is one thing. Cross-checking a burly defenseman to the nth degree is quite another. Dumb penalties lead to dumb goals, and a lot of the players have been able to keep themselves under control a lot better during the last two or three preseason games. Will that continue tonight? Hopefully so, or we will surely see a party in the penalty box.

Tonight should be another exciting start to the season! Make sure to catch all the action at 7:30 PM on MSG (HD). Just a note that if you are not in the Buffalo area of Time Warner Cable, MSG (HD) is not available, but the game will be broadcast on the normal MSG channel. Now to convince the company that there are Sabres fans outside of Buffalo!

LetsGoSabres Game Preview
NHL/Sabres Game Preview


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