Search the Community

Something something future is now mumble mumble. More adversity. Can they rise to the occasion? Go Sabres!

GAME ON!

The Sabres are starting to look like they can play, but they're still at the bottom of the standings... well, except for the Islanders, the only team behind us in the conference. We should be able to win this game, and we HAVE to win this game if we have any designs on climbing into the playoff race. The Sabres "problem" now is that players are getting healthy and DD needs to figure out who plays where, and who sits. For instance, Daily Face Off shows the roster below, but that doesn't take into account that both Fedun and Bogo fully participated in practice Thursday. Can either of them play? If they do, who sits? If Bogo's ready, Falk sits I think, but if Fedun is ready, does he play? Has he shown enough to give Franson or Gorges a rest (even if only for a game or so)? Tune in closer to game time to see what the roster really looks like. Also of note, Kaner is still on the 4th line. The way DD rolls his lines one or two players at a time, that may give him some ice time with the first line, as happened when he scored his third period goal Tuesday. Will that be enough to stoke is apparently fragile ego (come on, man, smile when you score)? Well, maybe if he scores again... The Isles are coming off a 5-4 loss to Chicago Thursday night. Hopefully the Sabres can take advantage of their defense and put up a bunch of goals again. If the Sabres can start hard and keep the pedal to the metal, the Islanders should be tired by the third, playing their second game is as many nights. Tavares continues to impress, but deeper into the lineup the talent isn't there. All three of these players are in the Sabres organization now- Ullmark, Gus and Okposo :)

I'm tired so.... Let's crush Boston! Lineup notes: Apparently DD is playing Line Partner Bingo. Look for Lehner back in goal for the Sabres. Guhle replaces Gorges, but don't know if he will be paired with Franson.

Game 2 with Jack back. Can the Sabres sustain the intensity of the first period last game? Can they tighten up the back end? Is this truly Jack's team? We find out the answers to these questions, and more, tonight.

JACK'S BACK The night we've all been waiting for: Jack Eichel and Your Buffalo Sabres start the season.... for realz this time. Now it's not quite official but I'd be shocked if we don't see Jack on the ice tonight. The Sabres have taken 3 of 4 points from Ottawa so far this year. This is a good rivalry game, and a great time for Jack to come out scoring. Let's take it to the Senators! And now, a word from our MODO:

It is here. Yeah, it's preseason. It's still exciting as ######. Man, I'm PUMPED.

Hello, my baby Hello, my honey Hello, my ragtime gal Give me some goals on fire Baby, my pants are tighter If you refuse me It will abuse me Give this dog a bone Oh baby, tune your tone And bring this season home Yoooouuuuurrrrrr Buffalo Sabres, much like the monster that emerges from a man's chest after dicey space-diner food (change your meals to the soup, folks), your Buffalo Sabres will look to break through the rib cages holding these Rags together, and show the NHL world that yes, we are indeed headed for a 26 point improvement over last season. Coming off a huge win against the Toronto Maple Laughs, the Sabres look to continue their winning ways against a very formidable Rangers team. The Sabres win on Thursday night saw Johan Larsson and COR combine for 4 goals, 2 each, and Kadri being a bigger bitch than Frodo on Mt.Doom. Jack Eichel will look to get a little more touch in his game, and our defense still has....na ###### it, they know they blow The Rangers are 4-3-3 in their last 10, and are coming off a 4-3 loss in Carolina on Thursday. A game in witch Eric Staal proved to Carolina that yes, all of the Staal brothers are indeed overrated. Game Preview All Stats: Buffalo @ NYR (6-3 loss) NYR @ Buffalo (4-2 loss) Friday Practice Report; The Rise of Marcus Foligno Buffalo Lines: DD's Personal Craps Table: ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS - RYAN O'REILLY - HUDSON FASCHING NICOLAS DESLAURIERS - JACK EICHEL - SAM REINHART MARCUS FOLIGNO - JOHAN LARSSON - BRIAN GIONTA CAL O'REILLY - DAVID LEGWAND - MATT MOULSON Soon To Be Unemployed: JOSH GORGES - RASMUS RISTOLAINEN JAKE MCCABE - ZACH BOGOSIAN MARK PYSYK - CASEY NELSON

Well, folks, we don't have much left to go, but we have a lot more to play for. This season ain't over yet, and we still have 5 more games left for our rookies to learn, our goalies to get hurt, and at least one more star forward to get arrested. Damn, just typing that I feel like I should have done it in Spanish, and someone should have woken up from a coma. So, grab a beer, strap on your helmets, take off your pants, and eat enough chicken wings for the Surgeon General to ###### off, because you only get to do this 5 more times, and tonight, of all nights, will be the best to watch. The Sabres are coming off a roller coaster of emotions on Tuesday night, one that saw each fan rotate from 6 to midnight more often than Rob Lowe in Paris. Up 3, down 1, tied, breakaways...madness I tell you! It was all madness! And in the midst of it all, we say the hatred for DD finally come to a roiling bubble. I haven't seen line mismanagement like that since Rick James decided Studio 54 wouldn't kick him out. In the end, we learned, with finality, how ###### abysmal our defense is, and how much it truly sucks watching 12c3 of line combinations. (Come on, someone's gotta get that. First one to tell me that number gets candy. I'm not even sure it's the right way to compute that) The Leafs? Well, ###### these guys. Take'm outside and beat'm with a flip flop; tar and feather them with syrup and wasted playoff predictions. You know what's more depressing than the Maple Leafs? Nothing, that's what. Remember this? Anyways, the Leafs, with their 'holier than thou' attitude, have done a complete 180 and are firmly entrenched in a tank. A tank, by the way, which isn't working. Why? Because even when it comes to losing, the Leafs can't win. The Leafs are being out-tanked by the Carrion Heavyweight Edmonton Oilers though; rumors are McDavid no longer drives to the arena, but walks a strange route that takes him over a bridge everyday. The Leafs are 6-4-0 in their last 10, and are coming off a 5-2 win in Florida Game Preview Buffalo Lines: Anyone's Guess: ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS - RYAN O'REILLY - HUDSON FASCHING NICOLAS DESLAURIERS - JACK EICHEL - SAM REINHART MARCUS FOLIGNO - JOHAN LARSSON - BRIAN GIONTA CAL O'REILLY - DAVID LEGWAND - MATT MOULSON Soon To Be Unemployed: JOSH GORGES - RASMUS RISTOLAINEN JAKE MCCABE - ZACH BOGOSIAN MARK PYSYK - CASEY NELSON

Looking for the dynamic duo of Eich and Samson to continue their excellent play. This should be a hard fought game; the Sabres are in it to win it because the kids are taking the team over while ROR watches. The Hurricanes still have a legit shot at a playoff spot. Here's hoping the Sabres can be spoilers this day. Egg's Hot Player is Daniel Catenacci. If he scores, remember you heard it here first! The word of the day is legs. Help spread the word.

I don't think I've ever started a GDT. Wildcard didn't ask me to, he's got visions of figures, words, and diagrams dancing in his head for mid-terms. And not even good figures or diagrams. Buffalo comes home after a mildly chippy shoot-out win against the Marlies last night, looking to give the Rangers fits and cause Henrick to flip his net for some reason. http://sabres.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/preview?id=2015020993 Odds are Lehner is in net for the back-to-back. Whether the Rangers will go Swede for Swede remains to be saw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdGA8wXWPd0

It's been a while since I did a GDT. Ah, Toronto. My team when I was just a wee boy and the only way to see hockey was to aim the TV antenna across to the other side of Lake Ontario, and the picture was so snowy you had to watch what the players were doing to figure out where the puck was. But it's a new day. Buffalo has an NHL team. The Sabres are on their way back up, Toronto is too I think, but maybe a bit behind us. It should be a good game, mostly because regardless of whether the teams are any good and who's playing on them, these teams hate each other, in the "familiarity breeds contempt" sense of the word. Look for lines similar what we've been seeing out of the Sabres... Season series: The Buffalo Sabres defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in a shootout at First Niagara Center on Oct. 21. Sabres forward Evander Kane scored the game-tying goal with 4:21 remaining in the third period and Matt Moulson scored the shootout winner. Toronto goalie Jonathan Bernier made 34 saves and P.A. Parenteau scored for the Maple Leafs. It looks like a battle of the backups with The Big Johnson and Garret Sparks in goal. The Sabres have been playing decent teams well (even if they lose) and having their way with lesser teams. I see the Sabres making the Leafs look like the Laffs we like to make fun of.

This could be a trap in more than one way. After beating quality opponents the last two games, will the Sabres let up against the New Jersey Devils, a team barely in playoff position? Will the Devils use their famous trap defense to limit our scoring chances? Will Admiral Ackbar warn the Sabres just in a nick of time? The Sabres look to extend a budding win streak by exorcising the Devils at the FnC. A climb back toward a wildcard spot can only happen if the Sabres take care of business with every win they can get. The Devils, meanwhile, will try to bounce back from their second shutout of the season Sunday night against the Isles. Against the Red Wings the Sabres found the Swede that we needed when Johan Larsson scored the winning goal late in the 3rd period. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the other Swede that we need, Linus Ullmark, will get the start on the second half of a back-to-back. Game Preview STATS: All Stats New Jersey @ Buffalo, 1st meeting, 4-3 loss All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart PROJECTED LINEUP FORWARDS: 88 Jamie McGinn – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 23 Sam Reinhart 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 26 Matt Moulson 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 22 Johan Larsson – 12 Brian Gionta 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 82 Marcus Foligno DEFENSE: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian 6 Mike Weber – 46 Cody Franson HEROES: 31 Chad Johnson 35 Linus Ullmark

Your Buffalo Sabres will head into Joe Louis Arena to face the Detroit Red Wings for a Monday night clash between divisional foes. The Sabres will look to build on what was a fantastic Saturday night win against one of the best teams in the league as they were able to pull out the OT win thanks to ROR. As Flagg noted, ROR not only leads the team in points, but has more than Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, and Tavares, all while playing a better overall game as well. Ristolainen showed he can play the tough game as he stood up Lucic more than once, and was constantly making life rough for LA's stars. McGinn continued to be hot with another goal, Linus Ullmark came up huge when it mattered, and Matty Moulson looked to be improving, hopefully indicated his goal-less drought is at a finish. The Detroit Red Wings have been one of the hottest teams in the league as of late. Coming in at 7-0-6 in their 13 game point streak, the Red Wings sit at 2nd in our Atlantic Division. No strangers to OT, the Red Wings beat the Sabres 5-4 in OT in Detroit in their first meeting of the season, one that saw the Sabres climb back in the 3rd only to relinquish the lead on some poor defense, despite Linus making 42 saves and Risto having 3 assists. The Red Wings are notorious for fast starts and bad finishes, and are no strangers to OT. The Red Wings are sorely missing Drew Miller, who's absence due to injury has caused Detroit's pk to be at 66.7% ever since. Likewise the Sabres desperately miss the offensive catalyst that is Pysyk, and the forward depth and dynamic that Ennis can bring. Given Ullmark's performance last Saturday and Mrazek getting the majority of starts in Detroit, look for both of them to start. Good luck with that guess though Game Preview STATS: All Stats Buffalo @ Detroit, 1st meeting; 5-4 OT loss All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart Sunday Practice Report; the friendship of ROR and McGinn Forwards: 88 Jamie McGinn – 90 Ryan O’Reilly – 23 Sam Reinhart 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 26 Matt Moulson 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 22 Johan Larsson – 12 Brian Gionta 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand/19 Cal O’Reilly – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 25 Carlo Colaiacovo – 47 Zach Bogosian 6 Mike Weber – 46 Cody Franson (McCabe maintenance day) Victims: 35 Linus Ullmark 31 Chad Johnson

Time for the long awaited matchup between Eichel and McDavid, but with Connor nursing a boo-boo, we'll need to settle for the rest of the Edmonton youth movement. It should still be a good game. This is Game 1 of a western swing that will also include games at Vancouver and Calgary. Will the Sabres continue to be able to score? Can they keep their point streak alive? Edmonton won both meetings last year by 3-2 scores. If they Sabres keep their scoring streak alive, they win. It's that simple. This game will be the first for Cal O'Reilly with the big club. You can never have too many O'Reillys. Also notable is with Edmonton's new arena nearing completion, this will be the last game for the Sabres at Rexall Place. Game Preview STATS: All Buffalo Players' Stats All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart Saturday's Practice Report Forwards: 9 Evander Kane – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 23 Sam Reinhart 88 Jamie McGinn – 15 Jack Eichel – 12 Brian Gionta 22 Johan Larsson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 26 Matt Moulson 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand/19 Cal O'Reilly – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 25 Carlo Colaiacovo – 47 Zach Bogosian 29 Jake McCabe – 46 Cody Franson 6 Mike Weber Minions: 35 Linus Ullmark 31 Chad Johnson

It's deja vu for the Buffalo Sabres as they will again play the St.Louis Blues Monday night in downtown Buffalo, although this time the Sabres will look to finish their domination. We've seen it all too many times this season, the Sabres control the entire game, but either can't finish or are stonewalled by the ghost of Hasek; that or somewhere up there in the rafters sits Leino with a laser pointer. Either way, after a 3-0 loss in Dallas on Saturday night in which they were shutout for the first time this season, and losing 4 straight, the Sabres are happy to come back home and host a struggling Blues team. Buffalo (0-2-2) in their last 4, has scored 4 goals in total during those games. The Blues may be the perfect recipe for a quick turnaround however. In the middle of playing 9 games in 16 days, the Blues (2-3-1) in their last 6, are coming off a lackluster 4-3 OT loss vs Detroit. On this stretch of games and the impact it has on his players, Grimace had this to say: The Blues will likely trot out Allen again, who single-handedly won the game for them in St.Louis. After Johnson's 'meh' start and the usual goalie rotation, look for Ullmark hopefully. Pysyk and Girgensons will be evaluated and their status will be decided at the morning skate. Eichel has gone 5 games without a goal, the longest in his young career. Game Preview STATS: Buffalo @ St.Louis (3-2 SO loss); All Stats All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart Hoss had the idea of each GDT we vote/say who we think is the other teams current best player. I'll go Buffalo => ROR St.Louis => Tarasenko The Sabres took Sunday off, so the lines are from last game, they will be updated accordingly. Keep your tray table in the upright position. Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 23 Sam Reinhart 82 Marcus Foligno – 22 Johan Larsson – 63 Tyler Ennis 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian 3 Mark Pysyk – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo Goalies: - Linus Ullmark - Chad Johnson

Coming to you from Texas is today's Game Day Thread. In fact, this GDT is a DOUBLE BLOCKBUSTER GDT from myself and great stuff from WildCard. The Sabres are playing much better than their results. Dallas is playing every bit as good as their results. Tonight, push comes to shove and the Sabres will break through against a top team. Look for me in the crowd, I'll be one of the middle-aged pasty-white guys in a white Gilbert Perreault jersey (apparently several of the DFW Bills Backers have that jersey.... imagine that). Preview Lines are from last game, no lines were reported for Friday's practice so the assumption is the lines are the same; I will update them in the morning though Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 23 Sam Reinhart 82 Marcus Foligno – 22 Johan Larsson – 63 Tyler Ennis 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian 3 Mark Pysyk – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo Goalies: - Linus Ullmark - Chad Johnson

The Buffalo Sabres will launch themselves into a 2 game road trip tonight as they open up in St.Louis for a clash of contenders. The Sabres, losers of 2 straight including a 3-1 gut-wrenching, Bettman-hating loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, will look to climb back to .500 again. The Sabres, despite surprising performances from both the goalie and defense corps, are turning out some abysmal goal production thus far this season. Despite being statistically above average, indeed pretty good actually, and dominating most of their games, the story thus far this season seems to be a complete inability to finish. With DD prioritizing this at practice, look for the Sabres to perhaps mix it up tonight The Blues on the other hand, can be described as being big, heavy, relentless, and with one of the best forechecks in the game. DD described the Blues as easily the "heaviest" style of game the Sabres have played thus far, and it will be a big test for this young team to see how they compete against the physical teams of the West. Reinhart and Eichel could be in for a long night. The Blues, losing 3-1 @ CBJ on Tuesday night, should be eager to get some points to stay alive in the highly competitive Central Division Parayko and Lehtera are day-to-day. Ullmark in net, Allen in net tonight for the Blues (both per Brawndo) By all indications Kane should be back, which would be huge seeing as Girgensons is out. Game Preview Stats: All Team Stats Team Comparison Chart Last Game Stats: Dallas @ Buffalo Last Game Stats: St.Louis @ CBJ Wednesday's Practice Report Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 23 Sam Reinhart 82 Marcus Foligno – 22 Johan Larsson – 63 Tyler Ennis 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian 3 Mark Pysyk – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo Goalies: (goalies not listed)

Yoooouuuuurrrrrrr Buffalo Sabres entertain the San Jose Sharks tonight in a Saturday night showdown. The Sabres will look to extend their winning streak to 4 consecutive games, and improve on their recent stretch of going 6-2 overall, including winning 4/5. With Gionta scoring in Florida, and Reinhart showing he belongs on the pp, the Sabres are firing on all lines right now and are starting to look like a dangerous team in the EC. Linus Ullmark was, again, brilliant, stopping 36/38 shots in Florida Thursday night, one with his face. Cody Franson looks to extend his point/goal streak to 3 games as well, and the Sabres will be anxious to get over the .500 hump. The Sharks meanwhile, have hit quite the rough patch ever since Couture has gone out with an ankle injury (won't be back until November 22nd). Going 4-6 in their last 10 and coming off a 3-2 win in Detroit Friday night, SJ will look to forget the swirling rumors surrounding their leader Patrick Marleau. The Sharks are an extremely beatable team, though they do hold a 5-3 road record. Martin Jones got the start last nigh, so perhaps with back-to-backs the backup, Alex Stalock, will get the start tonight (1-3, .894%) Look for Chad Johnson to again get the nod tonight, and the same Sabres lineup to be present. No Bogo yet, but we're getting closer. Game Preview Stats: All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart Friday's Practice Report (lines are from the last 2 games, with wins in both games don't expect any changes) Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 88 Jamie McGinn – 15 Jack Eichel – 63 Tyler Ennis 22 Johan Larsson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 23 Sam Reinhart 54 Tim Schaller– 17 David Legwand – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo– 3 Mark Pysyk 6 - Mike Weber 31 Chad Johnson 35 Linus Ullmark

The Buffalo Sabres continue their road trip tonight in Sunrise, Florida as they take on division rivals the Florida Panthers in a key Thursday night showdown. The Sabres, 5-2 in their past 7 games, look to continue the hot streak and vault into the playoff picture, as a win tonight could see them in 4th in the Atlantic Division (even typing that idiotic name pisses me off). Coming off a huge win in Tampa Tuesday night, which saw Eichel collect his first road goal, assist, and points; Franson his first goal as a Sabre; Foligno his first goal of the season; Chad Johnson's streak of making at least one miraculous save extended, and the Sabres first win against the Lightning, the Sabres will look to continue take advantage of a Barkov-less Panthers team that has been struggling lately. Florida is 1 point ahead of the Sabres. As mentioned, Florida is in some rough shape, It's been 3 weeks without their top center, the young Alexander Barkov, and boy do they miss him. Florida (3-4-3 in their last 10), is coming off a 4-3 win vs the Flames, have scored less than 2 goals in 5/6 games, has given up 20 goals in those last 6 games as well, and had lost 5 straight prior to beating the Flames. The Sabres lost in Florida in the only match-up this season thus far, falling 3-2 on goals from McCabe and Ennis. Look for Luongo to start, I will post the Sabres starting goalie once I know in the a.m. Barkov is expected to resume skating today after suffering a broken hand, but is day-to-day. Mike Weber is out, and back in Buffalo with an LBI. Game Preview Stats: Game 1: 3-2 Loss Team Comparison Chart All Team Rankings Wednesday's Practice Report The lines below are from the previous game, no line combinations were released Wednesday, I will update these as well in the a.m. Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 88 Jamie McGinn – 15 Jack Eichel – 63 Tyler Ennis 22 Johan Larsson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 23 Sam Reinhart 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo– 3 Mark Pysyk 6 - Mike Weber 35 Linus Ullmark 31 Chad Johnson

Your Buffalo Sabres will roll into sunny Florida this Tuesday night to take on the EC Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sabres will look to continue their winning ways, going 3-1 and 4-2 recently. The team should be locked, stocked, and ready to go as they ride the high of a thrilling 3-2 win in which Rasmus scored in the final 16.8 to knock of a familiar face in Ryan Miller and Linus Ullmark made his presence known to the league, stopping 35/37 Vancouver shots, many of which were of very high quality. The youngsters are doing their part for Buffalo, as Eichel got his first 2 assists, Pysks made a b-e-a-utiful feed for the McGinn goal, and McCabe has seen his minutes climb from 13 minutes/game to 20 minute/game over the last few contests. The Lightning meanwhile, look to continue pulling themselves out of an early season funk. Coming off of another loss in which the offense was, again, lost, the Lightning look to forget their 1-0 loss to the Wild on Saturday and think back to their 3-0 record vs the Sabres instead. Tampa Bay has serious offensive issues right now, getting shutout 3/8 and held to 1 goal or less in 6/8 recently. If the Sabres are going to push for the playoffs, we have to beat teams when they're down. Especially playoff contending teams like Tampa. Beating the Lightning in Tampa, after a huge Saturday win, could be a launching point for this team. Shake off the demons from the 3 Tampa games earlier, and get a nice winning streak going into a pivotal match-up against the Panthers on Thursday night. This game should be intense. Look for Johnson to start, and possibly Vasilevskiy based on his last performance in Buffalo. Palat is injured (out 5-8 weeks, credit to 3Putt), and Colaiacovo is optimistic to return and replace Weber. Sabres look to juggle the lines again and get Ennis back into the grove. The 2nd and 3rd line look dangerous, and Moulson gets his opportunity again to play big minutes with O'Reilly. Game Preview Stats: Advanced Stats: Game 1 Advanced Stats: Game 2 Advanced Stats: Game 3 Team Comparison Graphs (CF% vs Scoring Chances)(Or any axis you want really) Sabres killing it in this one Monday's Practice Report Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 88 Jamie McGinn – 15 Jack Eichel – 63 Tyler Ennis 22 Johan Larsson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 23 Sam Reinhart 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo– 3 Mark Pysyk 6 - Mike Weber 35 Linus Ullmark 31 Chad Johnson

HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY! ###### is it good to be back in a GDT. 4 days without Sabres hockey is just too long, especially when they're actually fun to watch again. :beer: Alright; as mentioned, the Sabres are coming off of a 4 day break, which saw a rest day Monday, practice days, and a visit to a military base to honor the troops...and drive humvees or, if you're Zemgus, hold a rocket-launcher. Other than that, Buffalo looks to keep the hot streak going as they come off two straight wins, and have won 3/4. Yes, you read that right, we have a win streak. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, has hit a bit of a rut, going 3-5-2 in their last 10, and coming off of a 2-1 loss in Detroit on Tuesday night. Tampa has lost 5/6. Stats: CF%: Buffalo - 52.1%, (6th), Tampa Bay - 51.2%, (10th) FF%: Buffalo - 51.5%, (9th), Tampa Bay - 50.5%, (12th) Fenwick For% = Fenwick For / (Fenwick For + Fenwick Against) Corsi For% = Corsi For / (Corsi For + Corsi Against) Advanced Stats For First Match-up Advanced Stats For Second Match-up Game Preview Look for Linus Ullmark and Bishop to get the start. Ennis will be back, and Drouin (missed 4 games, LBI) and Paquette (missed 5 games, ankle) are both questionable. Wednesday's Practice Report Don't look for the lines to change, they've been the same for the last two days of practice. Looks like Weber has found his place though WEDNESDAY’S PRACTICE 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 90 Ryan O’Reilly – 63 Tyler Ennis 22 Johan Larsson – 15 Jack Eichel – 82 Marcus Foligno 26 Matt Moulson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 12 Brian Gionta 88 Jamie McGinn – 17 David Legwand – 23 Sam Reinhart 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo – 3 Mark Pysyk 6 Mike Weber 31 Chad Johnson 35 Linus Ullmark

The Sabres will look to rebound from a frustrating loss on Thursday night as they take on the Flyers back home at the F'NC on Friday night. Buffalo, who beat the Flyers 4-3 in OT fashion Tuesday night, have 93 shots in their last two games, and are in the midst of a stretch that will see them play 3 games in 4 days; look for Ullmark to get the call tonight. On the other side, the Flyers are starting a 5 game road trip, and will look to get Voracek off the snide (0-3-3 so far this season). Look for Neuvirth to start against his old team (.947%, 1.55 GAA, 2-0-2 (SO)) I will post the lines for tonight's game when the AM lines are reported. Latest news is Ennis is day-to-day with an LBI, hopefully he's in tonight because we need him. Game Preview

The Buffalo Sabres stroll into Pittsburgh on Thursday night with perhaps a little more bounce in their step after a thrilling OT winner in Philly on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh is also feeling good, coming off a 3-1 win against the EC giants that are the Washington Capitals, and even managing to find some chemistry with Malkin and Kessel. The Sabres fore-check will look to pin the Pens dynamic forwards in their zone to neutralize them, and Chad Johnson should have a hell of a game ahead of him. However, a very interesting stat, as wjag (I believe) pointed out, is the Sabres actually have 4 more goals than the apparently dominate Pens offense, pointing to chemistry issues for the Penguins. HDDDB will look to exact some revenge on the team that canned him two years back in his first bout against the Penguins as a HC. Game Preview WEDNESDAY'S PRACTICE (NOTE: Reinhart & Ennis had a maintenance day, both are expected to start) Forwards: 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 59 Tim Schaller (Ennis) 22 Johan Larsson – 15 Jack Eichel – Assistant Coach Dave Barr (Reinhart) 26 Matt Moulson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 12 Brian Gionta 82 Marcus Foligno – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn Defensemen: 4 Josh Gorges, 55 Rasmus Ristolainen, 29 Jake McCabe, 46 Cody Franson, 25 Carlo Colaiacovo, 3Mark Pysyk, 6 Mike Weber 31 Chad Johnson 35 Linus Ullmark

The Sabres begin their stretch without Evander Kane on Tuesday night when they visit the Flyers in Philly. Coming off of consecutive losses, the Sabres look to bounce back and start getting into a groove; at the very least we intend to beat these ass-hats. With Kane out, look for Eichel's line to dominate tonight. Look for Chad Johnson to get the start tonight and rebound from a terrible Montreal performance, and with Neuvirth suffering a recent injury, look for Steve Mason (2-2-1, 3.32 GAA, .899%) to start Game Preview Monday's Lines MONDAY’S PRACTICE 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 63 Tyler Ennis 23 Sam Reinhart – 15 Jack Eichel – 22 Johan Larsson 26 Matt Moulson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 12 Brian Gionta 82 Marcus Foligno – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn – 59 Tim Schaller Defensemen: 4 Josh Gorges, 55 Rasmus Ristolainen, 29 Jake McCabe, 3 Mark Pysyk, 6 Mike Weber, 46 Cody Franson, 25 Carlo Colaiacovo 31 Chad Johnson 35 Linus Ullmark And, because I'm this desperate for a win tonight, I'll even highlight Gionta for this GDT