Buffalo Sabres Morning Skate #1: Ottawa Senators

Good morning, it’s a Buffalo Sabres game day! Man, that feels good to say again. The fans are excited, the players are ready to get going, and there’s that crisp hint of a chill in the air that suggests autumn is (maybe) finally on its way here in the 716.

More from Sabres News

Whether you’re planning on heading down to the rink to catch tonight’s game live in action, zipping over to your favorite bar or restaurant to watch with friends, or hanging out at home — tonight’s Buffalo Sabres game will be one you won’t want to miss.

From Jack Eichel’s NHL debut, to the debuts of Ryan O’Reilly, Evander Kane, Robin Lehner and co. as Buffalo Sabres; from Dan Bylsma‘s debut behind the bench to seeing just who will get the As under Brian Gionta‘s C… there are plenty of storylines heading into tonight’s matchup.

Heading into Thursday’s game, the roster is pretty much set, with a few exceptions for injuries.

Gionta is considered day-to-day after sustaining a lower-body injury on Tuesday. Josh Gorges *should* be ready to play tonight after recovering from a lower-body injury.

Gorges, Cody McCormick, Bobby Sanguinetti, Linus Ullmark, Brendan Guhle and Zach Bogosian were all on injured reserve as of Wednesday evening.

Of course, tonight’s game is the first of the season for both the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators, but it will give Buffalo Sabres fans a solid chance to get a first look at what this team can do.

Without Gorges, the remaining Sabres D are Mark Pysyk, Mike Weber, Jake McCabe, Cody Franson, Rasmus Ristolainen, Carlo Colaiacovo and Matt Donovan. Assuming Gorges does play Thursday night, it seems likely that either McCabe or Donovan would find himself the odd man out.

At least a handful of players will make their Buffalo Sabres debuts tonight: Kane, Eichel, David Legwand, Carlo Colaiacovo, Lehner, Franson, Jamie McGinn and O’Reilly.

No matter which way you spin it, that’s a significant amount of roster change from last season. Though we’ve had small glimpses at what some of these players are capable of in the preseason, tonight is the true beginning of the test to see just how they fare with their new club.

For the Senators, defenseman Chris Phillips and goaltender Andrew Hammond are on injured reserve. Matthew O’Connor and Craig Anderson build the Sens’ goaltending tandem heading into tonight, with guys like Bobby Ryan, Shane Prince, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and captain Erik Karlsson leading the charge.

Tonight’s game is the first of four meetings between the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators this season, but they won’t face off again until January — and who knows how much will have changed then.

I could pull out all sorts of statistics from last season here, like how the Sabres did against the Sens, etc. but in the end, that would prove pointless, as the Sabres are essentially a completely different team from last year. New players, new coaches and a new attitude are all key components of what should be an exciting season.

But here’s a fun fact: Zemgus Girgensons has scored the Sabres’ first goal of the season in his first two seasons in the NHL; he’s the only player in Sabres history to have accomplished that feat.

The Sabres and Senators face off at 7 p.m. tonight at First Niagara Center. Fans are reminded that the Party in the Plaza begins outside the arena at 5 p.m. Fans are also encouraged to arrive early in order to accommodate the new security features heading into the rink.

Next: Sabres Top Line: Kane, Ennis, O'Reilly

More from Sabre Noise

Home/Sabres News