Game 1
Buffalo Sabres (0-0-0) vs. New York Rangers (0-0-0)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG
Radio: WGR-550
Know Your Opponent
New York Rangers
Record: (0-0-0)
Last Game: N/A
Division Ranking: N/A
PP: N/A
PK: N/A
What to Watch
1. A Clean Slate
They’re baaaaack! Finally, after a long summer, the Buffalo Sabres are back for what looks to be an incredibly exciting season ahead. Tonight, it all begins with a clean slate as players reflect on what happened last season – I don’t need to remind you how close they came to the playoffs – and charge forward into the new year. With key pieces like Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Jeff Skinner, Dylan Cozens and Rasmus Dahlin on the roster, and Devon Levi more than ready to make a splash in his first full NHL season, led by the trusty Don Granato behind the bench, the Sabres look good.
2. Powered By….
Both Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power are entering the season with shiny new contract extensions, both announced earlier this week. The Sabres have a significant core locked up for years to come, and it’s a sign of how much Kevyn Adams and his squad have done to make Buffalo a worthy destination. Players want to play here, and stay here. The team is clearly building something special, and it makes a difference.
If you want to run through a brick wall before puck drop, go read Tage Thompson’s letter to the fans.
3. The Opponent, and Familiar Faces
If the name Phil Housley sends a shiver down your spine, well, I won’t blame you. Housley was recently named an associate head coach for Rangers, so the Sabres will see him again tonight. Michael Peca, formerly with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, was also named an assistant coach for the Rangers, so he too will be behind the bench.
This offseason, the Rangers signed Blake Wheeler, Tyler Pitlick and Riley Nash. All of their leading scorers from last season, including Artemi Panarin (92 points), Mike Zibanejad (91 points) and Adam Fox (72 points) are back, along with captain Jacob Trouba.
For more on the Rangers, check out the For Hockey Fans season preview and Blueshirt Banter.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Victor Olofsson
Jordan Greenway – Casey Mittelstadt- Zach Benson
Zemgus Girgensons – Peyton Krebs – Kyle Okposo
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju
Erik Johnson – Connor Clifton
Goaltenders: Devon Levi (projected starter), Eric Comrie
New York Rangers
Forwards
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Kaapo Kakko
Artemi Panarin – Filip Chytil – Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle – Vincent Trocheck – Blake Wheeler
Barclay Goodrwo – Nick Bonino – Tyler Pitlick
Defense
Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson – Braden Schneider
Goaltenders: Igor Shesterkin, Jonathan Quick
Editor’s Note: In an attempt to simplify things, I’m trying something new this season at Die By The Blade. Instead of posting a separate game preview and open thread, we’re combining the two. Quite frankly, it makes things easier for us so we don’t have to make two separate posts every game day. Also, we’re not trying to him some silly ‘quota’ of posts each month, so there’s really no reason to separate them. Let me know if that makes sense!