@boosbuzzsabres
… something the Buffalo Sabres haven't done since December 15, 2014.
WGR550's Brayton J. Wilson unearthed that to make it easy on all of us and he also pointed out that the Sabres went on a terrible stretch. After that fourth win in a row the Sabres dropped 17 of the next 19 games (1-17-1), including a franchise record 14 straight, a streak which started in late December and covered the entire month of January.
2014-15 was the season of the "McEichel Sweepstakes" and at the time of their four-game win-streak the Sabres had a 13-16-2 record, which was rather respectable for the team they were icing on a nightly basis, and sat tied for 22nd in the league with 28 points (yes, you read that right.) By the end of January and their dubious losing streak Buffalo was dead last in the league with 31 points, six points behind the second-last place Edmonton Oilers.
Ironically enough it was the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team Buffalo faces tonight, who put a nail in the coffin of that ignominious season when they defeated the Sabres in the second-last game of the season. The loss secured last place for the Sabres and a shot at drafting either Connor McDavid or Jacek Eichel in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
The Reader's Digest version of what transpired in the nearly four-year interim includes two coaching changes and many trades by a general manager who built at team not suited for either the conference or the modern NHL. After an initial rise in the standings post-tank, their regression in year-two caused GM Tim Murray and head coach Dan Bylsma to get fired. It took a full season for new GM Jason Botterill separate his vision from that of his predecessor which included another last place finish. Fortunately for him it allowed Lady Luck to finally shine down upon them as the lottery balls fell their way and Buffalo won the rights to draft franchise defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
After three seasons wandering in the wilderness, the Sabres seem to have found some traction as they're two games above .500 with a 6-4-0 record and look the part of a team on the rise.
Tonight the Sabres face a Blue Jackets team that has had the upper hand against them. Buffalo is 4-6-0 vs. Columbus in it's last 10 games, 4-6-0 on the road, but the Sabres have only managed a 2-4-0 record the last two seasons.
With Buffalo on a three-game winning streak, odds are that Sabres head coach Phil Housley won't fix what isn't broken so we can expect the same lineup tonight barring any unforeseen injury news on Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Conor Sheary. The trio did not skate at yesterday's practice with Housley saying it was a "maintenance day" for them. Buffalo's probable lineup for tonight:
Jeff Skinner - Jack Eichel - Jason Pominville
Conor Sheary - Vladimir Sobotka - Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues - Casey Mittelstadt - Kyle Okposo
Patrik Berglund - Johan Larsson - Zemgus Girgensons
Jake McCabe - Rasmus Ristolainen
Marco Scandella - Zach Bogosian
Rasmus Dahlin - Casey Nelson
Word from the rink is that goalie Linus Ullmark will get the start in net. Ullmark was one of three Buffalo goalies to face the Jackets last season (Robin Lehner, Chad Johnson) and was the only one to come away with a victory as he stopped 44 of 45 shots in their 3-1 win at Columbus.
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