Friday 5: Takeaways From Game 1 of the Sabres 26-27 regular season
Well that didn’t go exactly as planned. The Buffalo Sabres opened the year with a loss on the road in Columbus, who have become quite a thorn in the side of the Sabres in the last few seasons. It’s a long season and there is, of course, no reason to panic, even if the 6-3 decision was far from what Sabres fans expected. It wasn’t all bad but there wasn’t a great deal to write home about either. Here are my five takeaways from Game 1 of 84.
Quinn is Firing Early
Okay, let’s start with something positive. Everyone’s breakout candidate of the year Jack Quinn was all over this game. He scored under two minutes into the second period to get Buffalo within one goal after a rough first period. Quinn also had two posts, including a near miss that would have tied the game at four in the third period. Now, the stat sheet will read minus one, which you hate to see, but Quinn made his presence known and was arguably the biggest offensive threat for Buffalo. The 25 year old seemed much more confident in his shot and taking his opportunities. He was even loading up and shooting on the power play. More play like that, and Quinn improving on 20 goals will happen without question. Now about that power play.
The Power Play Still Needs Work
Even in a year where the Sabres won a division title and ended a playoff drought, the power play struggles were the elephant in the locker room all year. They finished 21st in the league last season and going zero for five did nothing to instill faith that they have figured things out. There were some different looks, like Quinn shooting from inside the point as opposed to the predictable circle shots from Thompson. However, zone entries remain an incredibly frustrating watch for fans. The drop back, the dump in, nothing seemed to work. The second unit seemed to have more creativity, led by Owen Power, who is getting time on the man advantage now with the departure of Bowen Byram. They did manage to score shortly after Kent Johnson got out of the box on Columbus’s fourth penalty of the game, with Konsta Helenius getting on the board from Ryan McLeod and Power. Still, the Sabres are going to look at the two minutes of five on three they had and wonder what could have been had they capitalized on an undisciplined moment from Columbus. At least, they are in it together.
This Is A Tight-knit Group
The more I read and hear about the Sabres locker room, the more I wonder… Do the Sabres have the tightest locker room in the NHL? Never was that more on display than tonight when the bench emptied to do something I don’t think I can recall ever seeing. After Jack Quinn drew a hooking call on Cole Sillinger, Mathieu Olivier put the puck in the empty Sabres net while touching up on the delayed call. Zach Metsa took exception and started jawing with the heavy weight Olivier, even giving him a face wash. Gloved punches were then thrown before Olivier dropped his gloves and while the undersized Metsa did his best to hang in, he was bloodied. Both players were given five for fighting, while Olivier picked up an unsportsmanlike call to give the Sabres a five on three for a full two minutes. Before the powerplay, the entire Sabres bench made their way over to the penalty box to give Metsa some love for standing up to Olivier. You would have liked them to show up by scoring and making Columbus pay on the score sheet, but it was still a great sign to see that this team still holds an “all for one and one for all mentality” early in the season.
We Have The Power
On the back end, Owen Power was all over this game. He was on the ice for all three Buffalo goals, assisting on two of them. He showed some of the offensive flare that made him a first overall pick. It seems that with Byram gone, the shackles are off and Power doesn’t have to be a steadying force, covering for a more offensively inclined partner. He also seemed to be the driving force behind the noticeably more effective second power play unit. Power finished the game with 25:25 of ice time, second only to Dahlin on the team. He was also on the ice for two Blue Jackets goals. However, that could have more to do with his partner than Power.
Defensive Depth Appears Thin Early
Even in a shortened pre-season, the injury bug struck the Sabres. Mattias Samuelsson was clearly not 100% after pushing to get in the lineup for game night. He did score the Sabres opening goal, and still managed over 18 minutes, however he finished -1 on the score sheet. Louis Crevier, fresh off a four year, four million dollar extension with the Sabres, did not have the best debut. Paired with Power, a couple of mistakes lead to Columbus goals that really stunted any momentum the Sabres were building. The first was a clear miscommunication with Power, after Crevier failed to control the puck in the neutral zone, that allowed Charlie Coyle into the Sabres end with a trailing Cole Sillinger left open to have a clear shot on Luukkonen that maybe the goalie should have stopped. Crevier had been playing with Dahlin in preseason after the Samuelsson injury, and maybe a few more practices with Power may help them gel.
Though, if Olen Zellweger is ready for Saturday’s home opener, then maybe we see Crevier on the third pair with Metsa. A late addition to the team Matt Grzelcyk, who the Sabres signed following injuries to Samuelsson, Zellweger and Conor Timmins, did not have much of a training camp. He was on the ice for two goals against, including a back breaking power play goal that put Columbus back up by two goals in the third period. One has to wonder, if the Sabres d-core were healthy tonight, would the game have looked any different? And if injuries on the back end pile up later in the year, are the Sabres going to be deep enough to manage. It’s only one game, and there’s no need to panic, but it’s clear that for Buffalo to be at their very best, health on the back end will be critical.
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