Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Training camp and the preseason seemed to take forever, but opening night is finally here for the Buffalo Sabres, as they get set to host the Rangers on Thursday.
New York opened the season on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-0.
Buffalo went 3-2-1 in the preseason, but haven’t played a game since Friday.
"I think we’re all excited," said Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff following Wednesday's practice. "We’re all tired of looking at preseason video and practice video. Now let's put it to the test against the other team's real lineup, and let’s go to work and prove that what we’ve been working on will make us a winning hockey club."
Last year, the Sabres started the season with two games in Czechia against the New Jersey Devils and came home 0-2-0, scoring a total of two goals. They then lost their home opener to the Los Angeles Kings, 3-1, before beating the Florida Panthers, 5-2.
That was followed by an overtime loss in Pittsburgh, blowing a 3-1 lead and a 5-4 lead with 9:04 left in the game. The next night, they lost 6-4 in Columbus, starting the season with one win in six games.
Ruff feels that’s unacceptable, and it can’t happen again.
"We didn’t get off to a good start last year. You get behind and you’re chasing it all the time, then there’s not a lot of room for error," he said.
"Even though in a couple of months we got ourselves into an OK spot, you have no room for error. But when you start off in a good place, it allows for those couple of injuries not to kill you, and it allows for a tough week here and there."
Near the end of last season, Ruff stood at the podium rather emotional, admitting he let the team and the fans down with the way he coached the season. He’s determined to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
"Honestly, I feel like we’ve put ourselves in a good spot," Ruff said. "You do feel [the pressure], but first-and-foremost, you want something for the fans to wrap their arms around. For me, that’s important.
"Come to the rink and see a team that’s going to work extremely hard, that’s going to claw and scratch for every inch and get themselves in a place where you’re competing and putting yourself in the playoffs by the end of the year."
If you go by practice on Wednesday, it looks like Jacob Bryson will get the first chance to play for the injured Michael Kesselring instead of Ryan Johnson. It looked like in camp, Johnson would get that opportunity. However, 254 NHL games compared to just 44 NHL games played into the decision for Ruff.
"Both players have played well, and I think Bryson’s experience gives you a little edge sometimes where late last year, he was playing against some of the top lines and doing a real nice job for us," Ruff said.
"With 'RJ' [Johnson], we know we’ve got a guy that can add a little bit more of a physical side to his game. He can be the type of guy that can get to pucks in a hurry, and him and 'Brys' are really good skaters. So we’re comparing the physicality to the veteran savvy."
Jiri Kulich will be starting the season with Alex Tuch on his right wing and Jason Zucker on his left wing. Ruff says that isn’t by coincidence.
"You look at his role last year late, playing with [Zach] Benson and [Tage] Thompson, and doing a real good job," he said.
"We really liked his game, and know he can be a guy that can score big goals.
"He can skate with the best of them, he can defend well. We’re looking at a guy like Tuch, who can score, and those two guys compliment each other the way him and Thompson did, or the way Norris and Thompson are. That would give us a really good one-two punch with the top two lines."
Join "Schopp and the Bulldog" for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff, Thompson and starting goalie Alex Lyon.
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