@boosbuzzsabres
Plain and simple, Sabres forward Kyle Okposo got smoked at the hands of NY Rangers d-man Tony DeAngelo in a one-punch fight on Friday night. Props to Okposo for defending himself for a "hit" that wasn't even close to being as malicious as the Rangers took it to be, but then again, Okposo really shouldn't be dropping his gloves.
First off, fighting is just not in his makeup. At 30 years old and with over 700 NHL games played Okposo has been in a total of five fights over his 12 yr. career with his last one being over four years ago, according to hockeyfights.com. In addition, considering what he went through with his March, 2017 concussion, the follow-up treatment that landed him in the Intensive Care Unit and the long, slow process of once again playing the game without reservations, all potential hits to the head should be avoided at all costs. Yet, there he was going toe-to-toe with a young buck who's had 10 fights in just over three years.
Okposo took one on the chin for his team that night and the Sabres took one on the chin as a team. At the time of the fight, 7:51 into the final frame, Buffalo was down only 3-2 but they crumbled late in the game allowing three unanswered goals with just over four minutes left in the third period. At his post-game presser, head coach Phil Housley matter-of-factly laid into his team calling them "easy to play against" while also telling the gathered media, "we're soft." He also said that his team didn't "understand desperation at this time of the season."
Say what you will about Okposo, and plenty of negatives have been thrown his way dating back to the 7yr./$42 million contract he signed in 2016, but the guy has been playing a consistently desperate brand of hockey dating back months. Although his production isn't close to his $6 million cap-hit as he fell to a fourth-line role, he is one of the few Sabres players that brings what he has every night. Okposo seems to take a lot of pride in his profession as well as the 'A' sewn on his sweater. He's a high-character player and a great role model for the youngins.
Before this gets labeled as being too wishy-washy, the facts are that Okposo hasn't lived up to his contract and were it not for the Sabres being in the early stages of the build process, his cap-hit would be much more of an albatross then it already is. At 30 yrs. old he ain't a spring chicken and he's lost a step as a skater who wasn't overly fast to begin with. His days riding shotgun with John Tavares on the NY Islanders got him a huge contract that the Sabres are stuck with for four more years and there's almost no doubt that he would be moved if GM Jason Botterill had the opportunity. Okposo's not quite Matt Moluson-like in that his play and production was so bad that he'll be waived, sent to the minors then loaned to another AHL team, but at the same time, paying $6 million for a fourth-liner/2nd powerplay unit specialist isn't an ideal way to form a roster in a cap-world.
Yet, from everything printed and said about him, he's an outstanding person both on and off the ice.
Word from the Sabres is that Okposo does not have any concussion-related issues, which is good for him, and that he's with the team for their three-game road trip beginning this evening in New Jersey. After that they fly to Sunshine State for games against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. It's doubtful he'll be in the lineup tonight and the team may keep him out of the lineup for the Florida games as well.
The Sabres need more than a rallying cry to get them out of a rut that has them alternating between wins and losses/good games and bad games dating back to late last month. However, sometimes a rallying cry works so let's win one for Kyle.
*****
Rookie center Casey Mittelstadt was on a bit of roll before being felled by a lower body injury earlier this week. The 20 yr. old had points in four straight games before being shutout vs. Winnipeg last Sunday and was enjoying a run of seven points (2+5) in his last 10 games before leaving the morning skate on Tuesday with an injury. Mittelstadt looks as if he'll be back in the lineup tonight and based upon the lines at yesterday's practice, he should have Sam Reinhart on his right again with Evan Rodrigues moving to wing on that line.
With Okposo more than likely out and Mittelstadt back in, head coach Phil Housley shuffled his bottom-nine for yesterday's practice. Left wing Conor Sheary, who'd been with "Mitts" and Reinhart was moved to the Johan Larsson/Zemgus Girgensons line while Tage Thompson was moved from that duo to a line with center Vladimir Sobotka and rookie winger C.J. Smith.
Housley is continuing his search for some balance and secondary scoring. Here was the layout yesterday:
Skinner-Eichel-Pominville
Rodrigues-Mittelstadt-Reinhart
Sheary-Larsson-Girgensons
Smith-Sobotka-Thompson
Also newsworthy is that defenseman Marco Scandella is still in Buffalo being evaluated for an injury and having him out of the lineup opens up a spot for either Nathan Beaulieu or Matt Hunwick. Beaulieu, who indirectly implied he wanted to be traded, will likely see some ice-time this road trip in what might be construed as showcasing him. When you consider that the trade deadline is just over a week away and he hasn't played in any of Buffalo's seven February games, showcasing might be a pretty solid assumption.
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