Buffalo Sabres are light years ahead of what they were two weeks ago

The Buffalo Sabres may have lost their second straight game to open the season, but let’s take a minute and appreciate the development over two weeks.

In their final preseason game, the Buffalo Sabres were playing together for the first time as a group, and it didn’t end well, with the team giving up seven goals, though they scored four of their own. Their home-opener on Thursday night was a game they needed to put in the rearview, but not before they learned a thing or two from it.

Tonight, the Sabres once again allowed two goals in the first period, but unlike that 5-1 debacle on Thursday, Buffalo battled back and made it a game. Sure, they lost by a (controversial) goal, but hey, it is what it is, and right now, the Sabres are 0-2-0. But at least they started showing shades of the Sabres that we came to know last season.

Further, the addition of Zach Benson into the lineup has been about as good of an addition as the Sabres could have had. And if he keeps this up for the next seven games, they need to keep him on the team. He played a major role in helping the Blue and Gold get back into this one and make it a game, logging two assists, and the kid made several things happen when he wasn’t collecting points.

Buffalo Sabres are in a better spot, despite the 0-2-0 start

At long last, Jordan Greenway is looking like the player the Sabres believed they were getting when they acquired him from the Minnesota Wild at the deadline. He’s been a machine in these first two games, and you can expect him to keep building on his early season success.

The Tage line finally made things happen, and there were several instances when they nearly found twine. It’s also important to point out that last season, it took the trio of Tage, Tuch, and Skinner a few games to get going (with only Tuch putting up decent outings early), so we don’t need to worry about them.

The Buffalo Sabres have also been relatively physical throughout these first two games, logging 23 hits tonight. It’s another trend whose arrow you can count on to keep pointing north as this season progresses.

So, let’s not get hung up over these two losses early on. With 80 games to go and the Blue and Gold getting better since that preseason meltdown vs. Pittsburgh, the rest of this month will be more fun to watch.

(Statistics provided by ESPN.com)