Buffalo Sabres Pre Game Skate: Anaheim Ducks
Let me start off by first saying that I do hope for a much better effort this time around.
It’s a lovely Wednesday morning! The sun is shining (at least in California) and it’s a great day for some Buffalo Sabres hockey! Tonight they will play the Anaheim Ducks in a rematch that will display some serious emotion by both teams.
The Ducks are looking to continue their dominance of the west and possibly seek some revenge on the Sabres for an injury sustained to Patrick Maroon, on a hit by Josh Gorges in the last game. Granted, the injury was not intended, but the issue may be addressed on the Duck’s home ice.
The Buffalo Sabres will look to up their shots and scoring from the last game against the ducks (and the last few games in general. They only managed to put up 12 shots last game against Anaheim (and yes once again you read that correctly, 12 shots). They have had a lot of trouble finding the back of the net in the last few games, but after a great effort against the Bruins, and a hard practice yesterday, Coach Ted Nolan is convinced that his boys will do much better.
As far as the goaltending goes, Anaheim may lean towards John Gobson, who was just recalled and test how well his conditioning stint went. The Sabres will most likely lean on Jhonas Enroth tonight due to the lack of ability by Neuvirth to stop the Ducks in the last game.
Players To Watch
Last game against the Ducks, the Sabres were terrorized by rookie William Karlsson as he scored 2 goals. Watch for the Ducks to give him another opportunity to score some more, as he is the one with the hot hands against Buffalo. At 21 years old, he has plenty left to show and is more then willing to do it tonight.
Tyler Ennis scored the lone goal for Buffalo in the last game versus Anaheim, and he still remains one of the highest offensive threats that the Buffalo Sabres do have. His speed, and soft hands will be used to keep the puck away from the Ducks’ top players and hopefully even drive a few into the back of the net.
My Prediction
We can expect the Same basic lines for the Sabres tonight as Ted Nolan wants to develop some chemistry, but he has inserted Zemgus Girgensons into the power play unit in order to get a better net front presence. The Sabres will have much more drive in this game while they attempt to shut down one of the top teams in the league.
In the end, I think that the Sabres will narrowly win this one by a score of 3-2. The Ducks’ offense is a powerful one, but Tyler Myers and Josh Gorges are more than capable of shutting down the top line. The issue will be in stopping the Ryan Kesler line. Look for that line to cause Buffalo a little trouble.
Matt Moulson is still yet to score a goal and will have a great chance tonight. He knows that he is here to score goals and is visibly unhappy that he is not. He has not taken that fact lightly and will be working hard to score his first of the season.
Let’s hope for a much better effort and not count our Sabres out just yet. I know that almost everyone else is, but WE are Buffalo Sabres fans, and we will always remain positive and loyal to our team!
LETS GO BUFFALO!!