Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres started last season 5-0-1, and then they were 8-1-1 after 10 games. This season, they lost their first two games and have since picked up points in four out of five games, going 3-1-1.
The Sabres are tied with the New Jersey Devils for fifth place in the East Division, and two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ralph Krueger said having adversity early in a season makes your team stronger.
“I really felt everything came way too easy for us early last season, and I was never extremely comfortable as a coach," the Sabres head coach said Thursday morning. "I’m actually way more comfortable with this start and with all of the different challenges we had to manage, whether it was the goalies, whether it was not being rewarded for excellent play early.
“It’s the way this group has stuck with the process and focused on improvement daily, and a lot of that has to do with our additions, with the maturity they bring, but also it’s our group from last year growing up to another level.”
Krueger has laid down a plan for the team on where they should be as the season progresses.
“We need to be in the middle of the race with 20 to go, and then it’s going to be decided," he told his players. "That’s our definite goal, No. 1, which is to get more than halfway into the season right in the middle of everything, and then be one of the teams that rises to the top.”
Henri Jokiharju will miss his second straight game with, what’s being described as, a “minor” injury. That means Matt Irwin will play in his second straight game.
Irwin played so well in his debut on Tuesday, it’s going to be difficult for Krueger to pull him out of the lineup.
“We love those kinds of challenges and problems. Give us many of those,” Krueger said.
The Sabres host the Rangers on Thursday after beating New York 3-2 on Tuesday.
Buffalo is eighth in the NHL on the power play, scoring at a 30.8% clip. The Sabres have scored eight power play goals, and 13 goals while playing 5-on-5. Overall, the team is 18th in the league, scoring 2.86 goals per-game. The Sabres also give up 2.86 goals per-game, which is 16th in the NHL.
The Rangers are second-worst in the league with a .250 points percentage. Only Ottawa is worse at .214.
The Sabres' team save percentage has climbed to .899, which may be a big reason why they’ve started to get some results. Linus Ullmark is 2-1-1 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
The Rangers will have Igor Shesterkin in goal on Thursday. He’s not had a good start to the season, going 0-2-1 with a 2.98 goals-against average and .886 save percentage.
If the Rangers want to win, their top players will have to play a lot better than they did Tuesday. Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko were invisible in that game.
Jack Eichel still leads Buffalo in scoring after seven games with a goal and seven assists for eight points. Victor Olofsson has three goals and three assists for six points, while Taylor Hall has a goal and five assists for six points. Hall has no points in his last four games, and his play has been declining.
On the other side, Eric Staal has a point in each of his last three games.
Buffalo held an optional skate on Thursday, so there are no lines to talk about.
Join Schopp and the Bulldog at 6 p.m. EST for pregame coverage on WGR, when they’ll be joined by Krueger, Brandon Montour and Cody Eakin.
