‘GM Jason Botterill, under fire for the Ryan O’Reilly trade the previous summer and lack of movement until getting Brandon Montour at the trade deadline, went outside the box in May by hiring Ralph Krueger and giving the 59-year-old another NHL chance six years after he was fired in Edmonton. So far, so good. The Sabres started 8-1-1, slumped in November but came back in December to get themselves into playoff position behind the best season of Jack Eichel’s NHL career to date. And even though they lost both games to Tampa Bay, the Sabres reveled in their first international trip in eight years when they spent a November week in Stockholm.’