The Sabres squad that takes to the ice tonight to welcome the Philadelphia Flyers won’t quite be the same that fans watched five days ago. It’s Buffalo first contest since the blockbuster trades with the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars, which saw the Sabres say goodbye to longtime players Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, Jhonas Enroth, as well as prospects Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux.
With acquisitions Evander Kane out for the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery, and goaltender Anders Lindback expected to be the backup behind Michal Neuvirth, the only new face out on the ice will be Zach Bogosian, who will be expected to fill a—no pun intended—big role in Myers’ absence.
Myers lead the Sabres in time on ice this season up to his departure, an average of more than twenty -five minutes a game. Although Bogosian himself is accustomed to more than twenty-two minutes of ice time per game, some those minutes that Myers usually logged will need to be picked up by remaining defensemen like Josh Gorges, Nikita Zadorov, and Rasmus Ristolainen.
Bogosian, though, is looking forward to his tenure in Western New York.
“[Buffalo] always felt closest to home,” Bogosian said. “Even when I played in Ottawa and Montreal, which are only an hour and a half from my house, to be in Buffalo and New York State, or upstate New York, always felt more comfortable. I look at this as a great opportunity. I’m very, very excited.”
There might be an even bigger hole in Buffalo’s offense. Since Kane, the Sabres’ offensive grab from their pick with Winnipeg, won’t see the ice until later this year, that means it’ll require a call up from Rochester or a scratched member of the team to replace Stafford, who was third on the team in points with nine goals and 15 assists.
But Buffalo isn’t the only team coming into tonight’s game without their roster completely intact. The Flyers will still be without star-netminder Steve Mason, who was running an impressive 2.27 GAA and a .925 save percentage before requiring arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
Ray Emery has taken over in Mason’s absence, during which the Flyers have lost two straight overtime contests. Emery has given up just six goals on 74 shots during that stretch.
While Emery is expected to return to the status of backup goaltender soon enough, the Sabres’ starting netminder Neuvirth is in that spot for the long run with Enroth gone. Neuvirth has expressed excitement and determination at the opportunity, saying— “It’s time for me to show I can do the job.”
Tonight’s contest is not only an opportunity for Neuvirth prove he can be the starter, it’s also an opportunity to secure his first win in nearly three months. Neuvirth last recorded a victory with the Sabres back on November 18th, a 4-1 performance over the San Jose Sharks. Since then, he’s dropped nine straight decisions. He’s given up 34 goals during the drought, but the losses can’t be blamed purely on Neuvirth; his teammates put up just 15 goals throughout the same nine games.
Puck drop tonight is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST from First Niagara Center for a nationally-televised tilt on NBC Sports Network. Fans can also listen in through WGR 550.