The Buffalo Sabres began the 2025-26 season on Thursday night against the New York Rangers and unfortunately were not able to come away with the win. It would be the Rangers who got the scoring started with Alexis Lafreniere cleaning up a rebound for the first goal of the game.
The score would remain 1-0 for a majority of the game until the Rangers scored three goals late in the third period to secure the 4-0 win. These are some of the takeaways from the game on Thursday night for the Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres enter the game with some unexpected absences
The Buffalo Sabres have dealt with more than their fair share of injuries in the preseason, but it looked like they were getting close to back to full strength going into this game. They were expected to have Owen Power, who was on injured reserve when the team finalized their roster on Monday, but had worked his way back.
Unfortunately, he was a scratch for this game, but not due to the injury but an illness. Meanwhile, the Sabres were also without Zach Benson after he suffered an injury in practice on Wednesday after being hit in the face by a puck.
The fact that the Sabres were without Power and Michael Kesselring left the defense short-handed. Still, from the last half of the first period through midway through the third the defense held up pretty well against this Rangers team.
Alex Lyon did a great job keeping the Sabres in the game against the Rangers
The fact that it was a one-goal game after only the first period is a testament to how Alex Lyon did for the Sabres in net to open the season. He would get the start with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen dealing with an injury, and put together a really good performance, even if he didn't get the win.
He finished the game stopping 27 of 30 shots, including five when the Rangers were on the power play. The goalie position has been a big question for the Sabres entering the season, but in this game against the Rangers, it was not a concern for a majority of the game
Line changes in the second period gave Sabres a spark
Due to the injuries, the Buffalo Sabres entered this game with some lines they weren't necessarily expecting. Without Zach Benson, the team had Peyton Krebs on the top line with Josh Norris and Tage Thompson.
However, the Sabres really weren't able to get much going to begin the game and the coaching staff decided to change up their top line in the second period. They would move Jason Zucker up to play with Norris and Thompson, and it definitely was the right move as this line was very productive over the last part of the game.
This is not necessarily something that should be permanent and Benson really needs to be on that top line. However, when the Sabres need in-game changes this is something they may want to go back to.
Sabres had their chances on the power play but couldn't capitalize
The Sabres were unable to come away with the win, and one of the main reasons was that they couldn't capitalize on their power play opportunities. In the game against the Rangers, the Sabres had four power play opportunities and had nine power play shots, but couldn't beat Igor Shesterkin for a goal.
Power play was an issue for the Sabres last season as they finished 24th in the league with a power play percentage of 18.8%. While it is only one game, this once again seems to be a concern for this team and one that needs to be fixed if they want to be competitive.