The Buffalo Sabres are looking for their first win of the season and there next opportunity is Saturday evening on the road against the Boston Bruins. The Bruins have gotten off to a fast start this season as they have already have two wins, a 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals and a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
For the Sabres, they need a win as it can give them some momentum going into tough games next week against Colorado, Ottawa and Florida. It also can help put their road struggles last season behind them when they went 13-24-4.
3 Buffalo Sabres to watch in road matchup with the Boston Bruins
Rasmus Dahlin
After the game against the New York Rangers, Rasmus Dahlin tried to calm the concerns of fans and lean into the fact that it was only one game. The pressure is now on the Sabres to show that it was truly only one game and what they showed against the Rangers is not what fans should expect this season.
In this game, it really needs to start with their leader and Dahlin needs to lead by example against the Bruins. This is not to say he didn't play well against the Rangers; in fact, he probably was the Sabres' best player, but this is a game that they are going to need a little more.
Jiri Kulich
The injuries are continuing to pile up for the Buffalo Sabres and the latest addition is Josh Norris. He left the game in the third period, and it is unclear how long he is going to be out.
With his absence, this creates an opportunity for other players to step up, and Jiri Kulich is one of those players who will be playing a much bigger role in this game. Last season, after the Dylan Cozens trade, Kulich was the center on that top line next to Tage Thompson, and returns to that spot.
Last season, when Kulich was playing next to Tage Thompson and Zach Benson, this line had the second-best Expected Goal Percentage of any Sabres line at 58%. Now Benson is unavailable for this game, but Kulich and Thompson might be able to recreate some of that production in this game.
Alex Lyon
The final score doesn't reflect what Alex Lyon did in net for the Buffalo Sabres against the New York Rangers. While the Rangers finished with four goals, it was a one-goal game for about 50 minutes of that game. The Sabres should feel fortunate that it was only a one-goal game and that was due to Lyon making some huge saves in the first period.
In a game where the Sabres once again are short-handed, a player like Alex Lyon can give Buffalo a chance with a big performance in net. More importantly for Lyon, if he continues to stack good games, the coaching staff is going to have a tough decision to make in who the starter is once Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is ready to return.