@boosbuzzsabres
When all was said and done Thrusday night after the Buffalo Sabres disposed of the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1, the general feeling from head coach Ralph Krueger on down was that the win was great, but there's a long hard road to hoe. "We haven't achieved anything yet with this win," the coach said to the gathered media post-game. We're just at the beginning of a long, long, difficult challenge to go where we want to go."
Where the want to go is the post-season, a place the Sabres haven't been since 2011 with their eight-season playoff drought being the longest current drought in the NHL. Since then there's been a full turnover of executives, management, the coaching staff and the roster. Terry Pegula had bought the team in February, 2011 and had been their owner only three months and his Sabres made a late-season run to get to the playoffs before they lost in seven games to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Since then. Nothing. Nada. Nyet, Zilch, when it came to a playoff appearance. Heck, since then their highest season point total and highest finish was 2012-13 when they had 89 points and finished third in the division. They eclipsed 80 points only one other time ('15/'16,) had a couple of seasons with mid-70's point totals, hit 62 points once and tanked for 52 and 54 points in 2013-14 and 2015-16, respectively (or disrespectfully, if you choose to describe those two seasons.)
However, there's new sheriff in town and the results from Game-1 of Buffalo's Golden Anniversary season were extremely positive. The mutual admiration society is alive and well as Krueger has his charges playing completely different than the way they did last season and the players are liking it. "It was awesome," Buffalo's longest-tenured Sabres told the media after the win Thursday, "It was just fun to play."
Forward Conor Sheary has a field day against his former team and upped his totals to four goals and two assists in four games vs. the Penguins. "There's a lot of excitement in our room," he said, "We're playing aggressive and playing on our toes...for us [Krueger's system is] a lot of fun to play in and play together.
"There's a connection between the coaching staff and the players," said Captain Jack Eichel. "We've definitely accepted what he's been saying and vise-versa."
Everything that former head coaches Dan Bylsma and Phil Housley tried to do in Buffalo, Krueger seems to have nailed in one game. You want stretch passes? They've been there. You want defensemen jumping into the play? Take a look at defenseman Rasmus Dahlin's goal. You want that ever-elusive shot-mentality? How about the Sabres outshooting the Penguins 41-29. You want special teams work? Buffalo's PK allowed only one goal on five Pittsburgh powerplays while going 1 of 2 on their own. A fast start? Sheary's first goal came just over five minutes into the opening frame.
You want them parking the bus with a 3-1 lead in the third period?
Nope. "Parking the bus" was a frequently used phrase in the Bylsma-era, which inevitably led to losses and the same thing happened under Housley, although to a much lesser extent his final season because they had fewer third period leads.
Kreuger attributed the success of the team on Thursday to his players being in shape to play his high-pressure system and their commitment to playing it. The players attributed a lot to their coach treating them like the professionals that they are and they'll need to continue that against the New Jersey Devils tonight.
The Sabres will need to remain focused as there will be a lot of adrenaline at KeyBank Center because of the 50th anniversary celebrations. One of Buffalo's worst traits in general dating back to their last playoff appearance, and even before, was trying to look too slick in front of the home crowd. Countless were the occasions when they tried to be fancy when simplicity was all that was needed.
In addition, the Devils are coming off an embarrassment last night as they coughed up a 4-0 lead against the visiting Winnipeg Jets and lost 5-4 in the shootout. A serious no bueno, especially for a team that's predicted to at least be in the wild card mix come March. The Devils have a lot of speed and skill and though this Buffalo team is different than the one that got smoked 6-2 by New Jersey two games into the 2017-18 season, if they don't continue with what they did in Pittsburgh, it could be a rough night for them.
And they wouldn't want to destroy a festive KeyBank atmosphere, would they?
^^^^^^^^^^
As a part of their Golden Anniversary celebration, fans will be able to greet former Sabres captains in Alumni Plaza. The list includes Buffalo's first two captains--Floyd Smith and Gerry Meehan--as well as Sabres legends which includes the incomparable Gilbert Perrault and Mike "Captain Crunch" Peca.
Here's the list from sabres.com:
Floyd Smith (Captain: 1970-71)
Gerry Meehan (Captain: 1971-72 - Oct. 1974)
Don Luce (Captain: Jan. 1976)
Danny Gare (Captain: 1977-78 - 1980-81)
Gilbert Perreault (Captain: 1981-82 - Nov. 1986)
Mike Foligno (Captain: Feb. 1989 - Dec. 1990)
Michael Peca (Captain: 1997-98 - 1999-2000)
Donald Audette (Captain: April 1998)
Stu Barnes (Captain: 2001-02 - March 2003)
Jochen Hecht (Captain: Oct. 2007, Feb. 2008)
Toni Lydman (Captain: Nov. 2007)
Brian Campbell (Captain: Dec. 2007)
Craig Rivet (Captain: 2008-09 - 2010-11)
Jason Pominville (Captain: March-April 2008, 2011-12 - April 2013)*
Brian Gionta (Captain: 2014-15 - 2016-17)
All save for Pominville, according to the Sabres site, will participate in a pre-game ceremony.
^^^^^^^^^^
From Sabres PR:
"Reminder: The Sabres will not be holding morning skates before home games this season."
Krueger is a big fan of sports science having been exposed to their concepts while director of the Southampton Football Club. Some of that science has been making it's way into the NHL, especially with regards to the purpose and usefulness of morning skates, which has been a part of the normal routine for decades.
However, that's beginning to change.
Back in 2017 the LA Times ran an article about the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks holding on to tradition while other NHL teams were "giving morning skates the cold shoulder."
While there's no clear-cut answer as to why morning skates began sometime in the 70's, it began happening and became a part of the routine. Now, as more studies have indicated that rest is more important, teams in all sports are allowing players some extra rest. Jeff Zeilstra, a former baseball player and coach who works for Fatigue Science was quoted in the article as saying that "providing an opportunity for the players to sleep in is becoming more mainstream in sports.
"Sleep is seen to provide an extra 3-5% boost to help players."
The article's author Kevin Baxter also pointed to a landmark Stanford study on the effects of rest for college basketball players that found "increased sleep led to faster sprint times, a nearly 10% improvement in shooting accuracy and quicker reactions."
In a world of parity, any edge a team can get is worth exploring and Krueger, who was exposed to sports science for years in Europe, obviously isn't afraid to interject that aspect into his overall philosophy.
For those counting, a few things that Krueger has implemented since taking over the team:
--knowing his players on a personal level
--asking his players for input
--simplifying systems
--dumping the morning skate
^^^^^^^^^^
There were players getting in a skate this morning in the form of forward Evan Rodrigues and defenseman John Gilmour. In keeping with a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach, Krueger is going with the same lineup that won in Pittsburgh. It also looks as if they'll be going with Game-1 winner, Carter Hutton in net.
^^^^^^^^^^
Buffalo is in a tough Atlantic Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs as strong as ever and the Boston Bruins always in the mix for the third spot in the division. With the Montreal Canadiens being joined by the Florida Panthers as playoff contenders, the Sabres have their work cut out for them. Although months away, Buffalo breaking their playoff-drought might very well hinge upon landing a wild card spot and beating conference opponents is the best way to get an edge. Last year they finished 18-25-8 vs. the Eastern Conference, 10-12-5 against the Atlantic and 8-13-3 versus the Metropolitan Division.
Join the Discussion:
»