Page 17 - Cody Eakin News Today

New faces: No. 1 overall 2020 draft choice and forward Alexis Lafreniere, drop the mic. What to know: Forward Artemi Panarin is a bonafide scoring superstar and will take some pressure off Lafreniere-who is likely to not need it. And dont forget that Lafreniere takes some pressure off 2019 No. 2 overall draft pick, Kaapo Kakko, who will be better this season. Outlook: The "Blueshirts" have a shot at divisional playoffs if Igor Shesterkin can fill the large goalie skates of Henrik Lundqvist, who...

POSTGAME NOTEBOOK - Caps 6, Sabres 4 Top line sparks Caps early, Samsonov makes some key stops, blueliners chip in some offense, more by Mike Vogel @VogsCaps / washingtoncaps.com Two For Thursday - Washington roared out to a swift start in Thursday nights season opener over the Sabres in Buffalo, setting the pace and tone early a...

Forwards (13)   Kruegers philosophy when it comes to his forward lines is to strike balance through the lineup, with each line containing a mix of offensive and defensive strengths.  Lets go line by line based on Thursdays morning skate to see how they were constructed. (Keep in mind that Kyle Okposo is day-to-day and will miss Thursdays opener.)  4 Taylor Hall - 9 Jack Eichel - 72 Tage Thompson Krueger said upon acquiring Hall in the offseason that he envisioned the 2018 Hart Trophy winner...

Breaking down defensemen, cap compliance ahead of home opener by Gary Lawless @GoldenKnights / VegasGoldenKnights.com Hockey sense defines the bad from the good and the good from the great. Bad players can have good games when the stars align and all their decisions turn out to be the right ones. But over time hockey sense, or a ...

Hall has had the opportunity to skate with a number of different players in the week since training camp opened. Over the last few days, hes been on a line with Eichel, who missed the first four days of on-ice sessions - including the first Blue & Gold Scrimmage - due to an upper-body injury.  The two have been working on their timing and it paid off with some nifty plays, particularly at the top and tail of the scrimmage. Eichel and Hall both scored in the overtime period. "It was fun to play...

  Candidates to replace Girgensons The Sabres announced forward Zemgus Girgensons underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair a hamstring injury that occurred during Mondays intrasquad scrimmage. The projected timeline for his recovery is six months.  Buffalo has worked to revamp its roster with moves to acquire specialized role players during the offseason, one of which was re-signing Girgensons to a three-year deal. Girgensons played the part of tenacious forechecker and penalty killer...

Notes from Day 2 at KeyBank Center. by Jourdon LaBarber @jourdonlabarber / Sabres.com Eric Staal has become the elder statesman at Sabres camp, although you might not know it. At 36, he is more than a year older than Buffalos second-oldest player (Carter Hutton) and one of just five 30-somethings on the camp roster. His 1,240 gam...

Sabres captain: "We look at this as a great opportunity" by Jourdon LaBarber @jourdonlabarber / Sabres.com Jack Eichel spends his downtime watching hockey, picking apart of the games of his fellow elite players and seeing what he can add to his own repertoire.  When word broke in October that the Sabres had signed Taylor Hall to...

One big question: How will Eichel and Hall complement one another? While nothing is ever set in stone before skates hit the ice and lineups can change at the drop of a puck, Ralph Krueger has been open about the fact that he envisions newly acquired forward Taylor Hall skating on the top line alongside Eichel.  "In general, you have to be excited when you think of two elite forwards of that caliber attacking the opposition with the system that we have," Krueger said. "It will be lethal." It is...

Fingerlakes1.com Menu Kyle Evans covers local high school, college, and professional sports on FingerLakes1.com. Click here to contribute to our Sports Page or connect with Kyle using kyle@fingerlakes1.com. The Buffalo Sabres have revealed their roster for training camp, which opens Dec. 31 with on-ice sessions beginning on Jan. 1. The roster is comprised of 20 forwards, 12 defensemen and five goaltenders for a total of 37 players. During the regular season, the NHL roster limit will remain 23 ...