@boosbuzzsabres
Buffalo's roster for the second of a home-and-home preseason matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs was released and it has the look of what the Sabres may be icing come October 3, their season opener. Last night, however, a Sabres B-squad went out against the likes of the Leafs Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Morgan Reilly, Codi Ceci and goalie Frederik Andersen and played well despite being shutout 3-0 in Toronto.
Buffalo head coach Ralph Krueger was more interested in the overall play than the final score and really liked how his team got after it. "They really pressed hard early," said the coach of his team, "they played an aggressive, pressure game. I thought that Toronto had to make adjustments for the pressure we were giving. We're practicing hard, we're practicing without any eye on the game."
Toronto scored a goal in each of the first two periods and with his team down 2-0 in the third Krueger urged his team to press. even more "We were obviously pushing," he said, "we were asking everybody to push, push. We gave the green-light for risk and one bounced in the other way."
This game was a complete turnaround from what we saw in Columbus a few nights earlier where the Sabres looked sluggish from the get-go against the Jackets and fell 4-1. Against Toronto last night they got to it from the hop and had plenty of Grade-A scoring chances but just couldn't get one by Andersen.
Hopefully the many positives from last night will carry over into tonight's game at KeyBank Center where the Sabres have a roster more indicative of what they'll start the season with. Among the names for Buffalo/Toronto Part Deux are Jack Eichel, Rasmus Dahlin, Jeff Skinner, Sam Reinhart, and Jimmy Vesey plus appearances by defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and Marcus Johansson who are getting into their first games of the preseason.
Krueger and Co. also opted to dress Dylan Cozens, Henri Jokiharju, C.J. Smith, Arttu Ruotsalainen and Curtis Lazar who played last night in Toronto.
In a tale of opposite performances, Cozens may have been the best Sabre on the ice last night, other than goalie Linus Ullmark who made some remarkable saves to keep Buffalo in the game, while Jokiharju struggled. Kreuger praised the big jump Cozens has made since the start of camp saying, "what we really saw in Dylan the last few days was maturity."
"It's interesting how somebody with that much skill and personality is able to adjust in such a short period of time," said Krueger. "He started camp a little tentative and hesitant [but] the last few days we've noticed he's opened it up a bit and just playing his game. Tonight we saw the confirmation of that."
Cozens played so well that there's a roar from Sabreland, including some in the media, calling for him to be on the roster for at least a nine-game stint, as if nothing has been learned from recent struggles of young players. Casey Mittelstadt is a prime example as he made the jump from NCAA freshman to the NHL but wasn't ready physically or mentally and played on a team that didn't know what it was doing most of the time. Another example from last camp is Rasmus Asplund who played extremely well in the preseason but ended up being sent to Rochester. Asplund initially struggled early in the AHL but found his legs with the Amerks and was one of their best players.
The jump to the NHL is a huge one and there are many players who look great until they're figured out. Once a team has enough tape on a player they devise ways to neutralize them and if player and/or team isn't well-grounded in their play, it inhibits, stunts or even crushes a young players growth and development.
Jokiharju came to Buffalo in a July trade after playing 38 games for the Chicago Blackhawks last season. The 20 yr. old played next to future Hall of Famer Duncan Keith under three-time Stanley Cup-winning head coach Joel Quenneville before the Hawks made a coaching change. When Jeremy Colliton took over for Quenneville behind the bench, Jokiharju's minutes were eventually cut and he was sent to Rockford. The 6'0" 193 lb. Jokiharju has all the tools of a modern NHL defenseman but had a rough outing last night. The hype-train in Sabreland was in overdrive this summer with him not only making the team, but some also placing him alongside Dahlin in a top-pairing role. An injury to Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour furthered those notions, but as witnessed last night, Jokiharju may need a little more seasoning in the AHL as not only does need he to develop further, but the Sabres themselves have a new coach and a new system and it will take some time for them to work the bugs out.
On the other end of the spectrum is winger Victor Olofsson who will be on the ice tonight. Olofsson was a 2014 seventh round pick (181st-overall) for Buffalo and played 200 games in the Swedish Elite league over the course of five seasons before coming to North America last year. He led the entire Swedish Hockey League with 27 goals his final season and led the Rochester Americans with 30 goals last season. Olofsson clearly outclassed the competition at the 2019 Sabres' Prospect Challenge earlier this month and has looked the part of a bona fide NHl'er thus far through camp. About the only thing we're not sure of right now is where he'll be in the top-nine, but even in his case, the 24 yr. old Olofsson will still have his struggles as teams focus on neutralizing him.
For tonight, maybe the most interesting aspect outside of roster, lines and pairings, which includes where Ristolainen starts in the defense-corps, is the powerplay. In a 1-3-1 set-up we could very well see Olofsson on the right half-wall joining Dahlin at the point, Eichel on the left half-wall and Skinner in the slot with Reinhart working the front of the net and below the goal-line. The Sabres used those four on the PP last year with a lot of success and Olofsson adds another dimension as he's got a wicked shot and loves that right face-off circle for the one-timer. A number of players were given an opportunity there last year, including Dahlin (who'd never practiced a one-timer before) and Kyle Okposo, but it was a huge hole in the Sabres powerplay. If that's the quintet tonight, it may be a precursor as to what we'll be seeing in the regular season.
Once again, it's preseason and we all get caught up in individual performances both good and bad. Last night was a good step forward for the club in executing what Krueger wants from his charges--an aggressive, up-tempo game that has the puck quickly moving forward all the time. It seems as if the foundation is slowly setting and if it takes hold, and the players simply play this way, then it should be a fun team to watch this season.
^^^^^^^^^^
The Athletic's Joe Yerdon just tweeted that Marcus Johansson said he's playing some center tonight. Yerdon also posted the lines and pairings that were used the other day could be in play:
Vesey-Eichel-Reinhart
Skinner-Cozens-Rodrigues
Olofsson-Asplund-Johansson
With a fourth line of--Smith-Ruotsalainen-Lazar.
On the backend
Dahlin - Ristolainen
Scandella - Miller
Jokiharju - Nelson
Join the Discussion:
»