The Buffalo Sabres may be 11 seasons removed from the playoffs, but they still have some must-see hockey games for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
In actuality, all 82 games will give us must-see hockey. Even those inevitable blowouts that the Buffalo Sabres will surely suffer. One reason is that each game provides a measuring stick, so big losses at least indicate where the Sabres are at a given point in the season.
And while I wrote up an article on some of the games I was looking most forward to for the 2022-23 season, today, I’m narrowing that list to just three outings. These games include rivalries, whether it is with a, ahem, certain player, or team. Another must-see game will come against one of the NHL’s most dangerous teams.
So what games should you be circling twice in red for 2022-23? Let’s check them out.
Here are the three must-see hockey games for the Buffalo Sabres in 2022-23: Game #1 – Jack Eichel Homecoming 2.0 on November 10th, 2022
Clearly, Jack Eichel’s homecoming didn’t go as planned…for him, anyway. Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch made sure the blue and gold would come through with a win. So it is safe to assume Eichel will return to the KeyBank Center seeing red.
Problem is, while the Sabres appear to have improved, the Vegas Golden Knights look as though they regressed. For one, they are walking in with a new coach in Bruce Cassidy. They also found themselves in cap trouble, which forced them to move Dylan Coghlan and Max Pacioretty to the Carolina Hurricanes for future considerations.
Meanwhile, the Sabres kept their core group of players and figure to go into the 2022-23 season as a better hockey team but one that still has a lot of growing up to do. Nevertheless, they proved they could beat a team like Vegas in March. And now that they are more talented and experienced, they can easily top Eichel once more.