The Buffalo Sabres face perhaps their tallest task of this young season as they square off against the Calgary Flames on the road.
The Calgary Flames are just one of a few teams without a loss or an overtime loss and despite their revamped look, they appear to have picked up where they left off last season. While the Buffalo Sabres made headlines standing pat, the Flames pulled off a blockbuster when they sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar.
The Sabres are quite familiar with the aforementioned players and there is one common denominator here: They did not beat them last season. Next to Huberdeau and Weegar, the Flames have another newcomer in Nazem Kadri. And this doesn’t include staples like Rasmus Andersson, Andrew Mangiapane, and Noah Hanifan, to name a few.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Flames – Three players to watch
Don’t let Nazem Kadri’s older age fool you. The late-bloomer put up a career-high 87 points last season as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. It was a breakout performance that caught Calgary’s management’s eye, and now, Kadri seems to be on pace to shatter that career-high. He has been dangerous on the power play, scoring three of his four points when the Flames have a man advantage.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored 115 points last season and had a remarkable 85 assists. He has been a second-team All-Star twice over the past two seasons, and the 29-year-old is off to a hot start with three assists in three games. If the Sabres plan on winning this one, they must account for Huberdeau at all times when he is on the ice.
MacKenzie Weegar is once again showing two-way tendencies. He also has three assists in three games, and you will also see him clogging scoring lanes when in the defensive zone, evidenced by his five blocks. A disruptive player, the Sabres need to figure out how to keep the puck away from Weegar early and often.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)