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Buffalo Sabres Preseason: Are They This Good Or Just Lucky?

By Jacob D. Strozyk

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There once was a time where Sabres fans heard the legendary voice of Rick Jeanneret say the phrase, “These guys are good! Scary good!” and Sabres fans everywhere believed him. We all flocked to see this team that had been assembled at the time to see them fight for a chance at a Stanley Cup. Well, after two abysmal seasons, there may be some real chance at us actually being good once again.

Related – Reinhart Needs To Step Up

The preseason is unfortunately not a real measure at regular season success, but it is a good starting point for assessing the weak and strong points of your team. The Buffalo Sabres have been red hot (hotter than a firecracker as RJ would say) as they have won four out of five total games, and have had the offensive production of a top contender.

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Now, I’m not getting ahead of myself here. I do not believe that the Sabres are close to a true contending team yet, but the numbers and efforts do not lie. There is a distinct jump in the step of every single player on the team, and the newfound passion for the game is electrifying. For a team that was at the bottom of the league for two straight years and were robbed of two first overall picks (which I honestly do not care about because I wanted Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel from the start anyways), they are playing like contender.

The offense is rolling, the defense is injured (but not too bad), and the goaltending needs work. Not exactly the perfect recipe for success, so that begs my question: Are the Buffalo Sabres actually this good, or are they just getting lucky so far?

Let’s take a look at the facts first.

The Buffalo offense is far more improved from what it was last year. The new additions in Evander Kane, Jack Eichel, and Ryan O’Reilly are three key pieces in the top two lines, which have been providing most of the offense for Buffalo so far. The bottom two lines have been playing their hearts out, and captain Brian Gionta has regained some of his fire to become the undisputed leader once again.

Though his point production is not the best, his veteran voice, presence, and example are key to maintaining unity amongst a young core group. The ultimate keys to success are going to be the production of Kane and Eichel, and the leadership skills demonstrated by Gionta until the time is right for a younger player to take over.

The defense is running a bit thin, but they do show some great promise; especially 2015 second round pick Brenden Guhle. I’ll be the first to admit that I doubted Guhle coming into training camp. I expected him to make it to the second round of cuts before he was shipped back down to his junior team, but here he is.

Guhle has been one of the best overall Sabres defensemen this preseason, and he has earned his right to be here. With some of the typical roster players going down with injuries, I can see Guhle’s chances of making the opening night roster growing by the minute.

So looking at those facts points me towards the direction of skill. This team has a great amount of raw talent, and that may be enough to take them out of the basement, but is it enough to push for a playoff spot?

These guys are not just getting lucky, and that is quite evident to me. These guys are that good, and I will expect nothing less from them in the regular season.

Next: Sabres Facing Injury Woes On Defense

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