Newly named captain of the Buffalo Sabres, Jack Eichel, sporting his new number 9.
Harper Cotie and Chad Melbourne
The 2018-19 National Hockey League season is now underway for the Buffalo Sabres. A new culture and attitude has set in with the Sabres as they look to finally turn things around. After a disappointing home-opening performance, losing 4-0 to the Boston Bruins last week, the Sabres bounced back and took down the winless New York Rangers by a score of 3-1.
Think back to January 24, 2013. Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” was topping the charts, the movie “Zero Dark Thirty” was just released, and Jack Eichel was still playing for the under-18 U.S. development team. January 24, 2013 was also the last time the Sabres had a record of over .500. Wow. However, an afternoon game against the Vegas Golden-Knights at Key Bank Center in Buffalo changed. The Sabres put on a strong performance in front of their home crowd, edging the Golden-Knights by a final score of 4-2.
Newly named captain, Jack Eichel, led the way with two highlight-reel goals, and Carter Hutton had a 35-save performance between the pipes. Defenseman Marco Scandella and forward Jason Pominville also chipped in with goals of their own. With an above .500 record for the first time in over five years, this is a sign that things are finally turning around in Buffalo. This franchise needed a culture change and they sure got it this off-season.
The Sabres parted ways with a couple of core players this offseason, losing guys like Ryan O’Reilly and Robin Lehner. With those two going out the door, Jason Botterill and the Sabres brought in some fresh faces: Starting with 2018 first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin, and others like Carter Hutton, Jeff Skinner, Conor Sheary and Patrick Berglund. Another important thing that the Sabres did this off-season was retain forward Sam Reinhart on a two-year bridge-deal at a bargain of $3.65 million annually.
With the new faces that the Sabres have brought in, along with a fresh-start for newly named Captain Jack Eichel and others, the Sabres will have a much-improved 2018-19 season. We may only be three games into the season, but the fact that the Sabres have a winning record already is a good start. I don’t see them making the playoffs, due to the strength of teams like Toronto, Boston, Tampa Bay and even Florida, but I don’t think the Sabres will finish far out.
We’ll see if the Sabres can keep their momentum going moving forward.