Eichel’s Goal Not Enough In Sabres Opener

The scoreboard didn’t read the way a frenzied sold-out crowd longed to see Thursday night, but the Buffalo Sabres have things to feel good about on the heels of their 3-1, controversy-filled opening night loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Following a lackluster 40 minutes that saw Buffalo trailing 2-0 that brought back memories of last year’s tank-a-thon, the Sabres showed copious amounts of life in the third; peaked with Jack Eichel first NHL goal, on the power play that nearly had fans blow the roof off the First Niagara Center.

Eichel’s goal transformed those in attendance from sleep mode to disorderly loud, and it got even louder when Buffalo appeared to tie the score at 2-2 with 9:26 left on an Evander Kane goal, but an Ottawa coaches challenge (new to the league this year) showed Zegmus Girgensons ever-so-slightly offsides on the play and Kane’s tally was disallowed.

It was the loudest chorus of boos heard in that building since Brett Hull last skated on it.

Curtis Lazar would score into an empty net for Ottawa to seal the game with 1:04 remaining.

Onto the recap…

Play of the Game: Kane took a nice pass from Girgensons and stuffed the puck past Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson to tie the score with under 10 minutes left, but the Senators successfully challenged via replay that Girgensons was offsides earlier in the play. Ottawa literally avoided a tie by less than two inches.

Stat of the Game: So much for Eichel being eased into the Sabres lineup. Along with Evander Kane his 21:12 of ice time led all Sabres forwards.

Three Things To Like:

- I’m sure nerves had plenty to do with it, but Eichel looked incredibly pedestrian through two periods. That wasn’t the case in the third. Not only did Eichel score on a beautiful shot (from an equally beautiful Marcus Foligno feed), but he looked electric with his speed, puck handling and vision. If the third period was any indication, Eichel is going to be as good as advertised.

- Buffalo outshot Ottawa, 14-4 in the third period and in the process gave the crowd proof that this isn’t your 2014-15 Sabres.

- New head coach Dan Blysma can’t use being in the penalty box as an excuse. The Sabres didn’t commit a single penalty.

Three Things To Not Like:  

- The Sabres trio of Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Ennis and Matt Moulson wasn’t much of a factor. The line combined for just four shots, none by O’Reilly, who was on the ice for both Ottawa even strength goals. They have to be better going forward.

- Conversely the Senators line of Kyle Turris, Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone had their way with Buffalo all night.  Turris scored both goals and the line dominated possession in the Sabres end throughout.

- Too many giveaways from the defense, particularly Rasmus Ristolainen on Ottawa’s second goal and Mike Weber in the third period that gave the Senators a chance to put the game away.

MVP: His goal was disallowed,but Kane looked the part of a star player and was one of the few Sabres not stinking up the ice in the first 40 minutes. It seems he and Eichel already have chemistry, and if Kane can stay healthy he’s poised for a big year.

LVP: Robin Lehner allowed a goal on the first shot he faced 30 seconds into the game, and left at 7:30 of the second with what looked like a left leg injury. It’s not the start to his Buffalo career he hoped for, and didn’t do much to put to rest anxiety fans may have after an inconsistent training camp and preseason. Blysma told reporters after the game taht his injury is not expected to be short term, which fits to how uncomfortable he looked leaving the ice.

Quotable: “I think what we did on that play I think that’s what we should’ve done a lot for the entire night, I think” – Eichel on his first NHL goal.

Random Observation: Color commentator Rob Ray must’ve identified No. 15 at Sam Reinhart instead of Eichel at least three times during one replay. Come on, Rob.. It’s not like confusing Carlo Colaiacovo with Cody Franson.

Wrap-Up:  If you only watched the first two periods before turning the TV off or leaving the arena, it’d be easy to conclude these are the same old Sabres.  The third period showed that’s clearly not the case. Let’s have some patience here—including Chad Johnson nine players were making their Sabre debuts.  After shuffling on different lines through 40 minutes and not playing a strong game, Girgensons looked very good with Eichel and Kane. It’ll be interesting to see if Blysma keeps that line in tact going forward when captain Brian Gionta returns soon.  The offense as a whole will get better as O’Reilly/Ennis/Moulson get used to each other, but defense and goaltending threaten to be a problem. Johnson, who played pretty well after Lehner went down should be in line to get a long look.

Up Next: The Sabres remain in Buffalo for the second of three straight home games as they face the Stanley Cup runner-up Tampa Bay Lightning.