BY: KEVIN BOGDAN
The Sabres kicked off their 2021 season this week with a back-to-back homestand versus the Washington Capitals. To say the least, it did not go well. Here are the top five impressions I took from the start of the season.
Very sloppy start
After a ten-month hiatus, it was to be expected that there was going to be some rust. In the season opener, the Sabres had a rough time in the neutral zone. They couldn’t seem to win those battles and gain puck possession, which led to letting in six goals. The defense had trouble breaking it out of our zone, missing on way too many breakout passes.
The powerplay will be fine
The Sabres went 1-8 on the PP in the first two games, which doesn’t look good on paper. The Sabres had a lot of great opportunities and moved the puck very well at times, they just weren’t able to finish. Once we shake off the rust and build some chemistry, our powerplay will be lethal with the amount of skill we have on both units.
#FreeSkinner
Jeff Skinner is WAY too skilled to be buried on the fourth line. He was the Sabres’ best player Friday night in the 2-1 loss, without a doubt. He is getting roughly fourteen minutes a night when he should be getting closer to twenty. He is such a natural playmaker and goal scorer where we need to utilize him to the best of our abilities. Not to mention he is making nine bananas a year.
Cozens belongs in the NHL
Dylan Cozens managed to pick up his first NHL point in his first game, assisting on Tobias Rieder’s goal. The kid held his own in the puck battles along the boards, had some good looks on the powerplay, and just looked like he belonged out there. Cozens may not win the Calder Trophy this year, but he sure will have a great rookie season for the Sabres.
Reinhart needs Eichel
Sam Reinhart was placed on the first line with Jack for a short amount of time in the game Friday night, and the chemistry is still there. Eichel and Reinhart had some great looks and chances together, and I would love to see a Hall-Eichel-Reinhart line for the next game. Olofsson is the type of player where if you put him with any playmaker, he will score goals with his lethal shot. The second line should be Skinner-Staal-Olofsson. Skinner and Staal are great playmakers and should be able to feed Olofsson pucks just as easy as Eichel has. In his postgame interview, Coach Krueger mentioned that there will be changes to the lineups in the coming games, so we will wait and see what he decides to do.
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