Buffalo Sabres Preseason: Kane, O’Reilly, and Lehner On The Hot Seat
The Buffalo Sabres are back in action with another preseason game tonight, this time against the Ottawa Senators. After a comeback win against the Wild a few nights ago, courtesy of Jack Eichel, the Buffalo Sabres will be showing off their potential first line for the home opener tonight. As a side note, Jack Eichel will not be in the lineup, the primary focus will be on the top line.
Related – Jack Eichel Shines In Sabres Preseason Debut
Over the course of last season, as well as the offseason, General Manager Tim Murray has been working to acquire the right players to turn his team around. Early last season he made the trade of the year when he got Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian from the Winnipeg Jets, and that was only step one. Once the NHL draft came around, Murray was not satisfied with just picking Jack Eichel at #2 overall, he made two more splashes when he traded for Robin Lehner from the Ottawa Senators, and Ryan O’Reilly from the Colorado Avalanche.
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Since these players have been acquired, the question has always been how well they would mesh together, or how well they would perform in their new environments. Kane is coming off of major surgery, O’Reilly is jumping into a top center role, and Lehner is jumping from a backup role to the starting role. These transitions are huge question marks for Sabres fans, and have been since these players were added to the team.
Let the wondering stop right there! Tonight, we the fans will be able to see all three of these players in action against one of the team’s biggest rivals, the Ottawa Senators. Let’s see how they react to that kind of pressure. Surely the fans will be giving them their undenied support from the First Niagara Center stands (wink wink).
So what is going to qualify as a successful game from these three players tonight? Each of them have different attributes that make for differing expectations, so what should a successful night be?
To many fans, it would be a hat trick from Kane, 5 assists and a shorthanded goal from O’Reilly, and a shutout victory from Lehner. As nice as that would be, the realism in that is not too great.
Some realistic expectations for these players would look more like this:
Evander Kane: one goal, at least five shots, and at least 3 hits.
Ryan O’Reilly: two assists, at least 60% on his face-offs, and at least a +1 rating.
Robin Lehner: two or less goals against, solid positioning, and a win.
The preseason is not so much a measure of their skills, but it will be more of a measure of their playing styles in their new roles. Do they seem comfortable? Are they making the right plays? Are they where they are supposed to be? Are O’Reilly and Kane showing chemistry together? If the answers to these questions are “yes” then that will be considered a solid game in my eyes.
As much as I would love them to light up the scoreboard, and for Lehner to stonewall every shot, the reality of that is unlikely. What I want to see from this line is smoothness and chemistry. That is what is key going into the regular season. Point production will come from the forwards with time, and steady play will come from Lehner with more playing time.
For tonight, I say that we sit back and enjoy the new line help to rip apart the Senators. Who’s with me?