3 Things: Bufalo Sabres at Florida Panthers:- 3/2/18

The Sabres will take on the Florida Panthers, who are fighting to stay in the playoff picture, tonight in a big Atlantic Division game.

Here are three things to watch for in tonight's game:

1.) LIMIT MISTAKES- SABRES

The Sabres need to limit their mistakes and play smart game. If they turn the puck over then they need to back check because if they don't then the Panthers will take it right into the offensive zone for a scoring chance. The Sabres need to make sure that the passing lanes are open and that they pass can't be deflected for the Panthers to go back the other way on an odd man rush. If a shot is there, then it needs to be taken instead of trying for the additional pass, which could be picked off and go the other way for a Panthers odd man rush or scoring chance. The Sabres just need to make sure that they make the smart play and not the high risk one that could be taken back the other way.

2.) TOP SIX FORWARDS- PANTHERS

The top six forwards for the Panthers do most of the damage for the team on the score sheet. If Evgenii Dadonov, Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjustad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Denis Malgin get going then it cold be a long night for the Sabres. The six forwards have combined for a whopping 258 points of total offense. The top six can not only play in the offensive zone, but some of them are really good in their own zone. If the top six of the Panthers are ready to go early and have the chemistry clicking then the Sabres better watch out.

3.) GOALTENDING- SABRES & PANTHERS

The goaltending could be a deciding factor in this game since both teams will have their chances. The teams are going to need to make life for the goalies miserable by getting some traffic in front and going for deflections. The goalies are going to have to make the easy save, and if they let in a soft goal put it behind them pretty quick. They will need to make sure that they have good positioning and if they are out of position, they'll need to get back or hope that a teammate is there to help them out. The goaltenders may have to make some spectacular saves since they have not exactly been playing at Vezina-like levels all year.

Sabres Slashes: Weekly Preview 2/11/18-2/17/18

The Buffalo Sabres will look to keep playing the role of spoiler and try to win some games against teams that are in the playoff race.

They may have to play some games without their leading scorer, Jack Eichel, who was injured in last night's game against the Boston Bruins. Eichel went to stop, lost his footing and went awkwardly into the boards. He left the game and did not return.

The Sabres have a busy week and will play four games in seven days. They'll start off the week against the Colorado Avalanche, who are battling for a playoff spot, but have been struggling lately. The Tampa Bay Lightning then come to town and that will be a tough game. The Sabres will then go to Ottawa to take on the Senators, who have been struggling all season long. Buffalo ends the week back at home to face the Los Angeles Kings.

Buffalo starts the week off against a struggling Avalanche. The Sabres are coming off of a big win against the Bruins, and need to ride the momentum of that win into this game. Buffalo could be without Jack Eichel, who was injured last night. The Sabres will want to get off to a fast start and try to get the first goal of the game. Buffalo needs to win the battle at even strength since the Avs penalty kill is one of the best in the League. The Sabres are going to need someone to step up if Eichel is out and that someone could be Ryan O'Reilly.

The Avalanche should take advantage of a weak penalty kill of the Sabres. Colorado needs to get the first goal of the game and have the lead entering the final period of the game. The Avs want to spend some time in the offensive zone so they should get the forechecking and cycling game early in the game. The Avalanche will want to keep an eye on Sam Reinhart and Evander Kane since they can really skate and put the puck in the net.

The Sabres will have to play their best game of the season if they want to take two points away from the Lightning. Buffalo needs to stop the balanced lineup of the Bolts, which includes Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman, by playing in the offensive zone. The Sabres will likely need the goaltender to have a spectacular game and steal the game for them. Buffalo should play with some discipline since they have one of the worst penalty kills in the League, while the Bolts have one of the  best power plays in the League. The Sabres need to use their speed to draw penalties, and take advantage of a weak penalty kill of Tampa Bay.

The Bolts will want to have a good start to the game and not play down to their opponent. The Lightning need to play their game and attack in the offensive zone. Tampa Bay should play with some discipline because the penalty kill is the one weak area of this team. The Bolts should try to force some turnovers for quality scoring chances. Tampa Bay is going to need to be aware of Rasmus Ristolainen when he is on the ice since he has started to pile up the points from the blue line. 

Buffalo will visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. The Sabres need to keep an eye on Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson when they are on the ice since the are two of the leading scorers for the Sens. Buffalo needs to set the tone early to take the home crowd out of the game. They'll need to get the forecheck and cycle game going early and often. The Sabres want to get off to a better start since they have been outscored by a wide margin in first period of games. Buffalo needs the goaltending to come up big since the Senators have some speed.

The Senators will need to play a 60 minute game, which has been difficult for the to do this season. Ottawa needs to win the battle at even strength since the Sabres have not been good in this area. The Sens will need to play with discipline since they don't have the best penalty kill in the League. The Senators will need to be aware of when Ryan O'Reilly and Sam Reinhart are on the ice since they both can produce. Ottawa wants to get the first goal of the game and build off of it.

The Sabres end their week with a visit from the Los Angeles Kings. Buffalo needs to get what they early in the game because the Kings tend to get better defensively as the game goes on. The Sabres need to get the first goal of the game and keep attacking. Buffalo will want to find a way to stop the top six forwards of the Kings, which include Anze Kopitar and Tanner Pearson. The Sabres need to find a way to force turnovers and take advantage of mistakes that the Kings make. 

The Kings need to get off to a better start and not give up too many goals in the first period. Los Angeles will want to find a way to get their power play going against one of the worst penalty kills in the League. The Kings need to keep an eye on Evander Kane when he is on the ice for the Sabres since he is one of the leading producers on the team. Los Angeles needs to win the battle at even strength and play a smart game by not making mistakes and turning the puck over. 

3 Keys: Detroit Red Wings vs. Buffalo Sabres- 10/24/17

The Detroit Red Wings will visit the Buffalo Sabres in an Atlantic Division matchup on Tuesday night.

Here are three keys to the game:

1.) GOALTENDING- BUFFALO

The Sabres are going to need their goalies to start stealing some games for them. They goalies have not been great for the Sabres, but neither has the team defense. They have allowed three or more goals in seven of the Sabres nine games. At some point the goalies are going to have to steal a game for the Sabres, and it started on Saturday night against the Bruins with the third period comeback and overtime win. Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson will need to step up and start making saves to keep their team in games because if that doesn't happen then the Sabres are going to be looking at the NHL Lottery again.

2.) ROAD POWERPLAY- DETROIT

The Red Wings power play is struggling on the road again this year. In five games played, Detroit has 16 power play opportunities on the road and has only converted on two of them. The Red Wings road power play is only operating at 12.5%. If they want to win this game then they need to find a way to beat a Sabres penalty kill that has been perfect at home. The Red Wings need to have solid puck and player movement on the power play, and not hesitate to shoot when the shot is there. 

3.) DYLAN LARKIN VS. JACK EICHEL- DETROIT/BUFFALO

The biggest key of this game is how the teams contain Larkin and Eichel. Eichel has been on fire to start the season and having Jason Pominville on the right side has helped him a lot. It has opened up some more space, which leads to more time to create. In nine games , he has four goals, seven assists and 11 points. Dylan Larkin is tied for second on the Red Wings with nine total points. Larkin only has one goal, but he has been setting his teammates up this year with eight assists in nine games. The teams will have to eliminate time and space so these two can't create. 

Sabres Slashes: Weekly Preview 10/8/17-10/14/17

The Buffalo Sabres are looking for its first win of the season, and it is a tough week ahead for the team, who has been struggling both offensively and defensively. 

It has only been two games, but the Sabres have looked like the same old Sabres. The team is going to need an adjustment period, but they need to get better in every aspect of the game. The New Jersey Devils come to town to take on the Sabres on Monday afternoon. Buffalo will then make its way to the West Coast, where they will take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday and the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. The best chance to get its first win of the season for the Sabres is against the Sharks, who have been struggling in every phase of the game. 

The Devils will visit the KeyBank Center on Monday afternoon. The Sabres are going to need to avoid turnovers and be smart with the puck. The Devils had 15 takeaways in its first game against the Colorado Avalanche. Buffalo will need to keep an eye on the defense joining the play in the offensive zone especially Will Butcher since he had three assists in his first NHL game. The Sabres need to get a forecheck going early, get off to a good start and be sure that they get plenty of traffic in front of the goalie. Buffalo should keep an eye on Marcus Johansson since he has nine goals, six assists and 15 points in 22 games played against the Sabres in his career.

New Jersey is playing in its first road game of the year, and they'll need to put in a good effort defensively. The Devils need to be sure to get shots on goal as they'll either be facing Robin Lehner (off to a not-so-great start) or Chad Johnson (first action of the season). New Jersey needs to win the special teams battle since they have zero even strength goals. The battle of the penalty kill should be an interesting one as the Devils have one shorthanded goal and the Sabres have two shorthanded goals, both scored by Evander Kane. New Jersey needs to get its top line going, and they'll have to keep an eye on Kyle Okposo (41 gp, 8 goals, 14 assists & 22 points) and Matt Moulson (37 gp, 10 goals, 5 assists, 15 points). 

Buffalo will then have the next two days off to travel to the West Coast, where they will take on the Sharks on Thursday night. The Sabres should use its speed to create so they can get plenty of shots on goal. It would be nice if the Sabres could take the lead going into the third period since the Sharks have yet to mount a third period comeback in the young season. The forecheck should be established early in the game along with better play while at even strength. The Sabres will need to keep an eye on Paul Martin (37 gp, 3 goals, 13 assists, 16 points), Brent Burns (12 gp, 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points), Joe Thornton (51 gp, 8 goals, 30 assists, 38 points) since they all have decent career numbers against the Sabres.

This could be the game where Martin Jones puts it all together for the Sharks since in four games played in his career against Buffalo he is 2-1-1 with a .919 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average. Jones and Burns really need to get it together and fast if this Sharks team wants to compete in the Pacific Division. San Jose is going to have to play a discipline game because the Sharks are struggling on the penalty kill. The Sharks need to get the first goal of the game, and keep the energy throughout the game. San Jose needs to establish a good forecheck and pressure the Sabres into some turnovers.

The Sabres end its week in Los Angeles, where they'll take on the Kings. Buffalo is going to need to be aware of the Kings speed, because this isn't last year's team. The Sabres should shoot the puck on net when they have the chance especially if there is traffic in front of the goalie. They'll also want to have someone in the crease area looking for rebound chances since the goalies will give them up. The Sabres need to pay attention to the following Kings players: Jeff Carter (30 gp, 15 goals, 10 assists, 25 points), Anze Kopitar (13 gp, 5 goals, 8 assists, 13 points) and Mike Cammalleri (21 gp, 8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points). Jonathan Quick has amazing numbers against the Sabres in his career including a 5-1-0 record, .944 save percentage and 1.22 GAA in 8 games played. 

Los Angeles is going to need to use its speed and get pucks on net. The Kings haven't has many power play opportunities this year so if they use their speed to draw penalties, they'd have some time to try to get its power play going. Los Angeles is going to have to keep its eye on Evander Kane, who has looked good early in the season especially on the penalty kill. Jason Pominville has four goals, 11 assists and 15 points in 18 career games against the Kings.