The Buffalo Sabres’ biggest summer acquisition gets to square off against his ex-mates for the first time in 2016-17.
When the Buffalo Sabres host the New York Islanders tonight, there will be a few interesting storylines to follow.
The first, of course, centers around Kyle Okposo, who will be facing his former team for the first time since signing with the Sabres as a free agent this summer. Okposo leads the Sabres in goals (9) and points (21), and has 11 points in his last 10 games, as per the Sabres website. Clearly, Okposo has been doing his part, and I’m sure he is happy he left Brooklyn when he sees the standings and sees the Islanders sitting in 27th place . . .
. . . but then again, the Sabres are just one spot ahead of New York in the standings, owning 28 points to the Islanders’ 27. Which brings me to the second storyline of tonight’s game: the standings. Buffalo is alone with those 28 points, with Toronto (29) within reach tonight. A win by the Sabres could tie them at 30 points with five other teams . . . but a loss would drop this team into a tie with the Islanders (best-case scenario) or even drop them one point behind them.
I don’t think many sane Buffalo Sabres fans honestly believe this team can overcome its slow start and make the playoffs this season, and I am sure there are some fans who would already prefer to see the Sabres tank in order to grab a high draft pick, but most of us would be happy to see the Sabres finish the season out of the NHL’s bottom-ten, to give us a little more faith in this rebuild. A win tonight is a step in the right direction!
Here are my Three Ways Not To Blow It against the Islanders.
1. Keep it close through the first two periods.
We all know that it’s a bit too much too ask the Buffalo Sabres to give us 60 minutes of hockey any given night, but the good news is, neither do the Islanders! See, the Isles have made the third period heart-break city for their fans, having won only 4 of the 13 games in which they were tied headed into the third. And in each of their last three games, the Islanders were either tied or held a lead after two periods, only to lose all three of those matches.
So even if Buffalo plays like a dumpster fire in the first or second period (this team still cannot decide which period it wants to gift-wrap for its opponents), as long as the game is close after 40 minutes, you have to like the chances of the blue and gold pulling out a win.
2. Win the special teams battle
The New York Islanders have the NHL’s worst power play, having scored on an embarrassing 12.3% of its man advantages. Meanwhile, for all of Buffalo’s offensive struggles, the team actually owns the league’s 4th best power play, boasting a success rate of 22.6%. I mean, if Buffalo can’t win this aspect of tonight’s game . . . damn.
3. Rock New York’s goalie early
The Islanders will be giving goaltender Jean-Francois Berube his first start of the year tonight in Buffalo, as announced by Arthur Staple today on Twitter:
J-F Berube is already in Buffalo. He's starting tomorrow against the Sabres. First start of the year for him. #Isles
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) December 16, 2016
Berube has only played 8 games in the NHL, so if there was ever a goalie who the Sabres could rattle by scoring early, it’s him.
Injury update: Neither Zach Bogosian not Taylor Fedun will be in the lineup tonight. Here are the projected line combinations:
48 William Carrier – 90 Ryan O’Reilly – 23 Sam Reinhart
26 Matt Moulson – 15 Jack Eichel – 21 Kyle Okposo
82 Marcus Foligno – 22 Johan Larsson – 12 Brian Gionta
44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 9 Evander Kane
29 Jake McCabe – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
4 Josh Gorges – 77 Dmitry Kulikov
41 Justin Falk – 6 Cody Franson
40 Robin Lehner
31 Anders Nilsson
Next: Buffalo Sabres 12 Days Of Christmas
The Buffalo Sabres are closing out a four-game homestand on which they are currently 2-1-0. Let’s hope the good times in the KeyBank Center keep rolling tonight!