Sabres Opening Night: Final roster and line predictions for opener
We have a look at the final roster plus lineup predictions for tonight’s matchup between the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals.
Tonight marks the beginning of a new era for the Buffalo Sabres as well as their fans, and Buffalo is buzzing with a flurry of offseason additions. We will see a combination of veterans that the Sabres added this offseason and also a rookie with very high expectations take the ice in Buffalo tonight.
With a shortened season and realigned divisions that will see the top four teams in each make the playoffs, it will be a tough road to get one of those four Stanley Cup Playoffs spots for the Sabres in the realigned East Division. They have surrounded captain Jack Eichel with new talent via free agency and the draft, talent fans will get to see in action beginning tonight.
The Sabres made a couple of big splashes this offseason by trading for Eric Staal and signing free agent Taylor Hall, both of whom will make their Sabres debut tonight. Rookie Dylan Cozens will also make his NHL debut tonight for Buffalo. Cozens is coming off an incredible World Junior Championships performance.
Per The Athletic, here are the projected lines following the team scrimmage over the weekend and the latest updates ahead of tonight’s season opener against the Capitals:
Forward lines
Taylor Hall-Jack Eichel-Tage Thompson
Victor Olofsson-Eric Staal-Sam Reinhart
Tobias Rieder-Cody Eakin-Dylan Cozens
Jeff Skinner-Curtis Lazar-Reily Sheahan
Defense pairs
Jake McCabe-Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin-Brandon Montour
Colin Miller-Henri Jokiharju
Goalies
Carter Hutton
Linus Ullmark
Taxi Squad
Forwards Jack Quinn, Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Asplund
Defensemen Will Borgen and Jacob Bryson
Goalie Jonas Johansson.
Next. Three Sabres “hot takes” for the 2021 NHL season. dark
Tonight’s opening night game for the Sabres is in Buffalo at 7 pm. Be sure to check out our game preview and TV information for tonight’s game if you have not already.