The 2007 Buffalo Sabres Preview

The 2007 Buffalo Sabres Preview Special

It will start with offense on the first line and will not stop until the fourth line as 10 of the 12 starting forwards are ranked as O 4. With only D.Roy and J.Dumont saddled with the pathetic O3 but they will make up for that with their passing in which they are both 5L. Speaking of passing 11 of 12 forwards are L passers with the lowest of the L's being 4L Chris Drury."When Drury is the squad's second worst passer that can speak louder than any words coming outta my mouth.", said Buffalo coach Phil Housley.
It seems that the blight of the forwards surely must befall Ales Kotalik who clocks in with a 3K passing which his teammates had been giving him the business about in the locker room.

The four Left Wings scored 116 (nhl) goals and are led by second year player Thomas Vanek. Vanek was a huge disapointment in 2006 as the fans thought the rookie would lead the team in power play goals, he didn't and was at times relegated to fourth line duty in his rookie campaign. This season the sights are set high once again for the Austrian and Vanek has said he looks to live up to the hype from here on out. Alexander Semin has made his way back from Russia and may enjoy a fine season with Drury as his centre.

The four Centers scored 114 (nhl) goals and look to put up terriffic numbers in assists as well with the new passing formula. Coach Phil Housely expects to finally see a Sabre name in the league leader board in the assists catagory. Veteran pivot Dainius Zubrus bemoaned his training camp experience, "The coach has me playing on the fourth line. I think I deserve better than that. Hopefully, he'll let me play on one of the power play units."

The four Right Wingers scored just 105 (nhl) goals but fifth line fill in player rookie Drew Stafford is expected to contribute goals into the double digits. Last years leading Sabre scorer Miroslav Satan will try to maintain a 30+ goal pace and youngster Jason Pominville wants a chance to prove that he can crack that 30 goals barrier as well. Eight 20+ goal scores is not out of the question for the high octane fueled team in 2007.

The Defencemen bring a lot of game to the rink this season. Led by Brian Campbell the Sabres have five D4's marching on the blue line corps. Several K passers are in the mix while Campbell and veteran Alexei Zhitnik intend to rack up 10 goals and 50+ assists each. "I see absolutely no reason why I can't get 55 helpers, anyway that's what I'm shootin' for." said right defenseman Brian Campbell after his final pre season game.

In Goal there is Ryan Miller and Martin Biron a fine and steady duo which may well produce a number of shut outs along the way to a winning record and potentially high winning percentage. After an intense exibition game victory where he obtained the no.2 star, Ryan Miller said, "I think Marty and I are going to really get the job done. We know the offense is gonna rack up over 300 goals, we just have to keep our concentration level high and we should have a good time out there."

"The bench players are deep and young. "Mostly I will be going with the aforementioned Stafford and also another University of North Dakota kid, Paul Gaustad to spell the starters and give them a few games off over the course of the year. They are talented guys that can fill in nicely on any line, you name it, one through four." pontificated Housley. "I like this group even more than last year's conference championship team. It should be a lot of fun to coach for me, play for the athletes, and watch for the fans."

In summary the combination of tremendous offense, stifling defense, and the poised and steady goaltending make the 2007 Sabres even stronger than they were last season. And with some hard work, tenacity, and luck they could have an outcome that will leave Buffalo fans cheering on the last game of the season.

-players denoted in purple are pictured
-sponsered by Mountain Crest. The cheap imitation of Molson Canadien Lager at just $7.99 a case at your friendly Buffalo neighborhood stores