@boosbuzzsabres
A lot is being made of the Buffalo Sabres recent record in Chicago, as well it should. The Sabres haven't beaten the Blackhawks on the road in over 12 years and are only 2-6-2 in their last 10 games at United Center dating back to the pre-lockout 2003-04 season. Buffalo beat the 'Hawks 3-2 on December 3, 2003 then followed it up with another win (2-1) on January 10, 2007 in two seasons where Chicago finished 29th and 26th in the NHL, respectively. After that, it was all downhill for the Sabres.
The Blackhawks at the time were in the midst of a brutal transition beginning in 1997-98 where they finished third or worst in the division in 10 straight seasons and missed the playoffs in all but one of them. However, during those losing times they were able to build a future with a nucleus of Duncan Keith (2002, 54th-overall,) Jonathan Toews (2006, 3rd) and South Buffalo, NY native Patrick Kane (2007, 1st.) That trio would eventually lead Chicago to three Stanley Cup titles in six seasons (2010, 2013, 2015) with the first one breaking Cup-drought dating back to 1961.
Buffalo won two of three meetings from 2007-10 but since the Blackhawks broke their Cup-drought the Sabres have a 1-9-3 record, which includes a 12-game losing streak (0-9-3) from October, 2010 to December, 2017. In light of that record, which includes seven regulation losses in a row, the Sabres have tried to stem the tide of losing to Blackhawks in the post-tank/Jack Eichel era. Buffalo finally managed to get into the win column last March and have 1-3-3 record over the past seven meetings. A win tonight would mean a series split for the second season in a row and although it might not look like much, its a start.
As we enter tonight's matchup both teams are all but mathematically eliminated from the 2019 NHL playoffs. Chicago (27-30-9) is nine points out of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference while Buffalo (30-28-8) is 11 points out in the East. The Hawks once formidable lineup has been chipped away by salary cap limitations over the years and they're re-tooling on the fly while the Sabres are coming out of their tank years on a re-rebuild as things didn't go as smoothly for them as it did in Chicago. However, Buffalo's core is looking stronger although it's not quite Blackhawks strong yet.
Eichel and Sam Reinhart really came into their own this season and are enjoying career years. They were joined by 2018 first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin, who's lived up to expectations and is having an excellent rookie campaign. Eichel's two-goal game against Edmonton on Monday night gave him a career-tying 25 goals on the season and his 72 points are already a career high. The 22 yr. old Sabres captain is on a 90-point pace for the season which would be the most points by a Sabres player since Daniel Briere scored 95 in 2006-07.
Reinhart had been the forgotten one on many occasions during his four full seasons in Buffalo but the 2014 second-overall pick has already topped his previous career high with 58 points in 66 games and is seven goals away from reaching his career high of 25 set last season. He's on a pace for 72 points and should that come to fruition, it would be the first time a Sabres duo scored 70 or more points since Derek Roy (81) and Jason Pominville (80) did so in 2007-08.
As for Dahlin, he's been making many rookie mistakes, but continues to look like the No. 1 defenseman he was drafted for. Although the Calder Trophy looks out of reach thanks to a stellar performance of fellow rookie Elias Petterson (VAN) and his 56 points (26+30,) Dahlin's 37 points (8+29) and minus-2 rating while logging over 21 minutes of ice-time on a defensively weak Sabres team is nothing to sneeze at.
With that core in place, the worries for this team moving forward center around their supporting cast. Winger Jeff Skinner was a great add and didn't cost a lot of capital when they traded for him, but the pending unrestricted free agent is going to coast a lot to retain, should he wish to re-sign in Buffalo. All indications right now are that he likes Buffalo and wants to stay, despite a promising season that went awry. However, there are also indications that he might be looking at a long-term deal around $9 million/season which puts Sabres GM Jason Botterill in a predicament as it's probably a little high for his tastes.
After that Botterill also has a group of miscast and/or overpriced vets and young vets that don't look to be in their future plans. Forwards Vladimir Sobotka (31,) Kyle Okposo (30) and Scott Wilson (26) will combine for a $10.5 million cap-hit next season while defensemen Marco Scandella (29,) Zach Bogosian (28) and Rasmus Ristolainen (24) will add another $14.5 million to that count. Botterill will need to move some of that out and the best way to do it would be for them to have strong finishes to the season.
It begins tonight in Chicago where the Sabres haven't won in over 12 years at the tail end of a season that has Sabreland singing the blues.
Bwah bwomba bwah bwump.
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