The Buffalo Sabres have not won many games recently and fans are getting weary. Tonight is a chance to start the new year fresh and really make a statement.
The Buffalo Sabres have had some tough couple of losses recently, one most notably and semi recently to the refere-…. er I mean the Boston Bruins, and the New York Islanders. While they have struggled to find scoring and consistent defense, the situation seems to be getting slightly worse.
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Captain Jack Eichel will be out for tonight’s game against Florida, and it seems that Evan Rodrigues will fill in for him on the top line. While this isn’t a bad move, it would have been nicer to see something a little different, and possibly more obvious.
Buffalo Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt has had a bit of a rough going with his point production this season, but he continues to put his full effort into every shift. He has shown he is offensively brilliant and has some of the best hands on the team, so it would be nice to see him between two other top end players like Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart.
Speaking of Reinhart and Skinner, with Eichel out, this will be a chance for them to take on a bigger and heavier responsibility. These two have been at the top of the Sabres scoring list all season, and it’s time to prove they can do it without Eichel. I have full faith they can, but it would be fantastic to see a player of Mittelstadt’s caliber between them instead of Rodrigues.
A player to watch closely tonight will be Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. In recent games he has struggled a bit and seemed frustrated. It has affected his game in some bad ways, but perhaps the small break after the new year has him refreshed and in better spirits. I expect him to be a wrecking ball tonight, both in the physical department and on the scoresheet.
The Buffalo Sabres have the puck drop versus the Panthers at 7:00pm EST tonight. Should be interesting to see how they do without Jack.