@boosbuzzsabres
No, there's not really an 'A' squad and 'B' squad for the Buffalo Sabres right now but when you look at some of the players that will be playing for Buffalo at home tonight vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, it sure looks that way. Although we're not sure who the headliner should be, the double-bill of Jack Eichel and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will top this group of Sabres with Dahlin getting most of the attention because of his rookie status.
Dahlin, the No. 1 overall pick at the 2018 NHL Draft, is widely regarded as the best prospect in hockey right now while the Sabres also have the fourth best prospect, according to The Athletic's Corey Pronman, in center Casey Mittelstadt who is also scheduled to be on the ice tonight. Joining that trio is recently acquired, three-time 30-goal scorer Jeff Skinner, Buffalo's probable top-pairing on defense to start the season--Rasmus Ristolainen and Marco Scandella--as well as veteran forwards Kyle Okposo and Jason Pominville plus a host of rookies looking to make their mark amidst this group of Buffalo's high end players.
With close to 50 players in training camp hockey, like baseball, does split-squad games. As we move through the preseason the roster will be whittled down until the final opening night lineup begins practicing for the Sabres October 4 season opener at home against the Boston Bruins. In a nod to capturing the moment, Buffalo's brass decided to wait until tonight's home game for Dahlin to make his debut while it seems as if the coaching staff, based on the lineup tonight, wants to leave the fans with a huge first impression of their 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres.
The process began last night with the 'B-squad' in Columbus taking on the Blue Jackets and one player who needed to catch the attention of the Sabres certainly did.
Winger
Alexander Nylander has been dogged by a number of issues since the Sabres drafted him eighth-overall at the 2016 NHL Draft. The very fact that he was taken instead of defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who's already completed a full season and played a meaningful role in 17 playoff games for the Tampa Bay Lightning. There was the stigma of disappearing for large chunks of games, and the injury that he suffered last off season that put him behind the 8-ball in 2017-18.
Throughout it all we saw glimpses of his high-end skills and were constantly reminded that he was still young during his two pro seasons, to the point where Sabres GM Jason Botterill noted this off season that most players his age are just turning pro.
Nylander is healthy this year and he bulked up in preparation for camp. He had a strong Prospects Challenge and was fully engaged last night at Columbus. The 20 yr. old was on a line with veteran forward
Patrik Berglund at center and 2016, 26th-overall pick
Tage Thompson in what was the clearly the best line on the ice. The stat sheet is solid as Nylander had two assists in 19:28 of ice-time with 1:29 on the powerplay and 2:03 on the penalty kill included. Buffalo beat the Blue Jackets 4-1 with Nylander notching the primary assists on the Sabres first two goals.
But stats are nothing more than numbers to be manipulated without context and in the case of Nylander, those numbers may not have done justice to the game he had. He was making the smart plays, chipping in the puck, working the corners and the wall behind the net and on Buffalo's first goal by Berglund he made a pass that not many players can make.
"If I was Nylander," Berglund told the gathered media post-game, "I would never try to pass that puck because I could never make that play. It was a great play by him." The 30 yr. old veteran of nearly 700 NHL games also said of Nylander, "from what I saw today and at practice, I think he's been taking big steps [towards] playing the game the right way."
For Nylander it's progression and if he continues to play engaged hockey while displaying a skill-set that was considered one of the best, if not the best, of his draft class, some great things could be on the horizon for him and the Sabres.
Now for a bucket of cold water.
The Jackets, like the Sabres, did not offer up their A-team either. Although captain Nick Foligno, top-six center Pierre-Luc Dubois and forward Oliver Bjorkstrand did play, they did not have the likes of forwards Artemi Panarin, Cam Atkinson and Boone Jenner play nor did they have their top defensive pairing of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski on the ice for this one.
Jackets head coach John Tortorella expressed some concern heading into the tilt as he alluded to a tough training camp thus far for his charges. "I'm a little concerned about these two games for us, because they have skated and skated, and it's been really hard for them," he told the Columbus media. "You've got to be really careful, as far as how you evaluate [these guys], because I think we're going to have some tired players out there tonight."
Brad Shaw, who ran the Jackets bench while Tortorella watched from above, echoed that sentiment saying that his club wasn't as sharp in the defensive zone as they could have been because of it but despite those shortcomings Columbus still took it to Buffalo in the offensive zone outshooting the Sabres by a 37-20 margin.
Which leads us to Sabres goalie
Linus Ullmark who played extremely well while stopping 20 of 21 shots in 40 minutes of ice-time. The 25 yr. old who's been steadily working his way up the ranks ever since the Sabres drafted him in the sixth round (163rd overall) of the 2012 draft, showed excellent form and a quick glove to stymie the Jackets and help Buffalo to a 3-1 lead heading into the final period. Although he still has some kinks to work out he looks to be a solid 1B for Buffalo in the crease this season.
Perhaps the second best skater on the ice for Buffalo last night was
Sean Malone, albeit in a different role. Malone is a local boy (West Seneca, NY) who was taken in the sixth round (159th) of the 2013 draft and had been making great progress as he was pressing for a checking line role with the Sabres up until he came up injured last night. Malone got tangled up and left the game with what's being reported as a knee injury that will keep him out an estimated six weeks.
For those heading to tonight's game, or watching it on MSG, have a good time. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons (2016-17) and depleted their organizational depth in the process. Buffalo defeated Pittsburgh at the Prospects Challenge by a score of 10-2 as they faced a team without any first or third round picks and only one second rounder playing in that game. A couple of those players will be in the lineup tonight with the Pens missing their big guns in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist, Olli Maatta and goalie Matt Murray.
So enjoy, Sabreland as it should be a good time tonight. There's a lot to look forward to this season and most of that will be on display tonight.
Buffalo's lineup for today via Paul Hamilton of WGR550 Radio:
53 Skinner - 9 Eichel - 21 Okposo
71 Rodrigues - 37 Mittelstadt - 29 Pominville
49 Smith - 17 Sobotka - 95 Bailey
28 Girgensons - 74 Asplund - 13 Baptiste
26 Dahlin - 19 McCabe
6 Scandella - 55 Ristolainen
24 Pilut - 33 Borgen
40 Hutton
31 Wedgewood
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