Buffalo Sabres Fans Are Gaining Confidence Once Again
The Buffalo Sabres have been putting on a show for their fans recently, and it is something inspiring to say the least.
If you asked me at this same time last season if I had any real confidence in the Buffalo Sabres ability to hold a lead, let alone come back from a two goal deficit, I would have said that I had little to none.
Recently, the Buffalo Sabres have been proving nay sayers wrong, and have been a 180 degree turnaround from last year. Last season, if this team was down by more than a goal, it was almost assured that they were going to lose the game. Many times even, I remember thinking to myself that we lost as soon as we went down by even a single goal. I had no confidence whatsoever in the team’s ability to score, or to play solid defense in a pressure situation.
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This season has been something completely different, and it has been one of the most refreshing things to watch. Night in and night out I don’t find myself wondering IF we will score. Instead I find myself waiting for WHEN we are going to score.
These newfound confidences are brought about through the tremendous acquisition of forward Jeff Skinner, who has made his way to the top of the entire league’s goal scoring list. Last season, Skinner had a total of 24 goals and a respectable 49 points. This season, in merely 17 games, he has already amassed 12 goals and is keeping pace with some of the league’s elite goal scoring talents (i.e Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane).
A large part of this success has to be put on the top two scorers Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner, but what will go slightly unnoticed is the play of the defense.
Last season, the defensive core relied heavily on the shaky play of Rasmus Ristolainen as he averaged some of the highest minutes in the league. This year, the defense is playing as a much more defined and tight unit on many nights, and it is something dramatically noticeable. Stepping up after being plagued with injuries is the likes of Zach Bogosian. He has found his role as a third pair, penalty killing defender, and he is playing the part better than most. After being demoted to the third pair, defender Marco Scandella is also seeing some success by having a much more stable defensive partner in Bogosian, as opposed to Ristolainen.
These factors combine for a new level of success that recent Sabres fans have not seen in many years, but it is a welcomed sight for sure.
So keep your heads high Buffalo Sabres fans! We have only begun to see the kind of success that will be here for a while. Now there’s just one big thing to get done to solidify this new confidence. Jason Botterill, if you are listening to your team’s fans, or happen to read this article… PLEASE. SIGN. JEFF. SKINNER!