On a night when the Buffalo Sabres honored the legendary 2005-06 squad, the current roster looked eerily similar to that high-octane team of the past. Following a dominant 15-2 run over their last 17 games, capped by a 5-3 win over Montreal, head coach Lindy Ruff drew a direct line between the eras, comparing breakout star Josh Doan to Sabres legend Jason Pominville.
It has truly been a breakout season for Doan in his first year in Buffalo, and he seemingly is getting better almost every game. He already has a career-high in points with 34, but eight of those points have just been in the last seven games.
One of the reasons, aside from the production, that Josh Doan has become such a fun player to root for is that he plays with so much effort. He is a player who doesn't give up on the play, outworks opponents, and the team is benefiting from that, with some of the plays just in the past two games.
Lindy Ruff says Josh Doan reminds him a little bit of Jason Pominville
After the game, Lindy Ruff drew the connection between Doan and Jason Pominville, which is notable as he was the head coach when Pominville broke into the league, and had this to say:
"Pominville had an unbelievable shot and great competitor," Ruff said. "Reminds me you know a little bit with his compete and on the puck, a little bit like [Josh] Doan."
Entering that season, Pominville was relatively unknown, with only one career NHL game, and he didn't even begin the season on the Sabres' roster. However, after about 20 games, he became a full-time player and made a huge impact with 30 points in 57 regular-season games and then another 10 points in 18 playoff games.
Doan entered the season with similar questions as the Sabres weren't really sure what they would get after trading for him in the summer. Before this season, Doan appeared in 62 total games but had only 12 goals and 16 assists.
Pominville remained a key part of the Buffalo Sabres after the 2005-06 season, playing 11 seasons in total for the Sabres with 217 career goals. It was one of the reasons he, along with Thomas Vanek, was selected to be inducted into the Sabres' Hall of Fame next season.
It wouldn't be surprising at this point if Doan continues to have a similar career path and someday down the road he is an inductee into the Sabres' Hall of Fame.