The Sabres finished their three-game weekend 2-1 as they were handed their first preseason defeat on Sunday in Columbus.
Buffalo, finishing a five game in seven nights stretch of hockey, weren’t very competitive against the Blue Jackets. The Sabres dressed what may have been their greenest line up of the preseason with only a handful of regulars playing in Columbus. Robyn Regehr wore the ‘C’ while Ville Leino and Andrej Sekera each wore an ‘A’. A look at the roster shows 10 regulars in the line up and that is fairly generous in my eyes.
Ryan Miller wasn’t spectacular, but he was Friday against Toronto, so I really don’t care too much. Tyler Myers scored on a great individual effort, but there wasn’t much else to like, or care about in this game.
– Friday and Saturday were both spirited contests that saw the Sabres prevail. Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth both had good games as they saw their first extended action of the preseason. Miller was particularly good on Friday as he helped backstop a 2-1 victory.
– Brad Boyes, despite earning a suspension, clicked with Luke Adam and Thomas Vanek as the line did some mighty good things on Saturday night. Adam has been playing very well and has certainly put himself in a position to make the team for opening night.
– Christian Ehrhoff definitely looks the part as he has scored a couple nice goals already in the preseason. It certainly seems as if he will add a great wrinkle to the powerplay.
– Corey Tropp is another player who has been getting noticed. Entering his second professional season, Tropp has played a good grinding game and has the offensive chops to be a double threat of sorts. He won’t be in the conversation to make the roster, but he could be worthy of an early recall. He may be creeping up on, or passing, Zack Kassian.
– The Ennis-Leino-Stafford line continues to impress and it seems as if Vanek will survive without skating alongside Leino, who may be the team’s top playmaker.
– Derek Roy’s injury was reported to be minor, while it sounds like Jochen Hecht could be missing some time. If Hecht is out for an extended period it opens the door for Luke Adam to step in. With Rochester opening camp today, there could be a few additional moves to fill that roster.
– The captain derby remains up in the air as three different players wore the ‘C’; Jordan Leopold, Jason Pominville and Regher. Vanek wore an ‘A’ for the second time while Nathan Gerbe, Leino, Leopold and Sekera each acted as assistants over the weekend. Gerbe wore the ‘A’ in both contests against Toronto. With this development, it doesn’t seem like there are any hints being given to who may end up wearing letters this season.
The Sabres will have the week to rest before playing in Washington on Friday. That will be the final game before the team departs for Europe. By then the roster situation should be sorted out.
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