Lots to weigh when pondering Sabres' choices for playoff foe
There are areas that favor the Sabres and areas where the opponents cause a worry. Some visiting rinks could feel like going into a hornet's nest. Other teams likely have a similar dilemma about the Sabres.
The first thing to consider when pondering playoff opponents is that you can talk your way into thinking any team is a good one for the Sabres to meet in the first round, and any team might be problematic, too.
Some areas favor the Sabres, and areas where the opponents cause worry. Some visiting rinks could feel like going into a hornet's nest, and others are less intimidating.
Other teams must be having a similar dilemma about the Sabres. Lots of players on the Buffalo roster have never been in the postseason, so you don't know how they'll react. But the club's talent level and depth are so high, and coming to KeyBank Center might be a rough task for a visiting team in the playoffs with the fans ready to unleash 15 years of pent-up postseason fury.
Bruins center Casey Mittelstadt celebrates his goal against the Sabres on Wednesday at KeyBank Center.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Where do I stand on potential first-round opponents? Here's some groupings:
The best choice: Detroit. And that's even with what happened here Friday night. The Sabres get all kinds of open ice when they play the Red Wings, who haven't made the playoffs since 2016, and will have no experience advantage on the Sabres when it comes to the postseason. There has never been a playoff game in Little Caesars Arena, so we don't know how wild playoff crowds might get. But the Sabres have lost four of their last five trips there and old Joe Louis Arena was pretty crazy in the playoffs, so you would think the new place would be as well.
The next best: Boston. Again, understanding what we saw here on Wednesday. The Bruins have an MVP-caliber level player in David Pastrnak but nowhere near the depth of the Sabres. They would need a massive series in goal from Jeremy Swayman, who would admittedly be capable of it. Boston is 26-10-1 at home, including two wins over the Sabres this year. TD Garden would be buzzing.
How would Rasmus Dahlin handle old roommate Casey Mittelstadt? With the game on the line on Wednesday, the former Sabre beat the captain to the puck to get a key tying goal. A lot of bragging rights would be on the line in this series.
Not great choices: The Sabres would definitely be favored against the New York Islanders, but that's a hard-checking team, and Ilya Sorokin can easily steal a series in goal. The fans in the UBS Arena will definitely be hostile, too.
Columbus has been red-hot since Rick Bowness took over as coach, and a top-three finish by the Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division would take them out of the mix as a first-round opponent for the Sabres. Might be a good thing. The Sabres have lost their last three games in Nationwide Arena and have an odd penchant for giving up goals in bunches against Columbus, with the Jackets scoring five or more against Buffalo six times since 2021.
Just can't decide: Montreal. How many of their chanting, singing fans will weasel their way inside KeyBank Center? That's the first dilemma. The Habs are basically a one-line team, but that line (Nick Suzuki between Cole Caufield and Juraj Slavkovsky) has driven the Sabres and plenty of other opponents batty this season. The Sabres are better defensively and should be better in goal, even though the Habs' rookie Jakub Dobes has 24 wins. How will he do in the playoff spotlight?
The Bell Centre will be insane in the postseason, but the Sabres have won four of their last six visits there. Aside from the stunningly small locker room, visiting players revel in playing there just like the Canadiens.
Avoid in Round 1: The Sabres don't match up well with Pittsburgh and are just 4-5-2 in the last 11 meetings. Sidney Crosby uses them as his personal pinata and it could be a last-stand time for Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson. Goalie Stuart Skinner is playoff-tested with runs to the Cup final the last two years in Edmonton.
I say the Sabres would beat Ottawa in a first-round series, but they would also get plenty beaten up doing it. And so would the Senators. With Brady Tkachuk, whom the Sabres despise, and Ridley Greig on the other side, it wouldn't take long for this one to develop 2007-level nastiness.
Granlund's goal, thoughts of Jessi Pierce
A public visitation for NHL.com writer Jessi Pierce and her three children is slated for Sunday in White Bear Lake, Minn. Pierce, who had become a well-known podcaster throughout the hockey world in addition to her daily coverage, and the children (Hudson, 8; Cayden, 6; and Avery, 4) died when fire ravaged their house last weekend.A GoFundMe for Pierce's husband, Mike Hinrichs, had surpassed $224,000 as of Saturday morning. The fire is under investigation. Arson has been ruled out.
It is an incomprehensible loss for those of us who cover the NHL. Pierce would immediately seek out visiting media who came to Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, and did that with me, as she has for several years, when I arrived in November. I immediately needled her about the ridiculously oversized scarf she was wearing to ward off the cold in the press box, and I will always remember the eyeroll I got in response.
Three days before her death, Pierce had messaged me looking for a piece of Sabres info while I was in Las Vegas. In a very strange point of fate, I was walking outside Crypto Arena in Los Angeles last Saturday and was no more than 20 feet from the statue honoring the late Kobe Bryant when I received a call with the terrible news.
When in Anaheim last Sunday night, I freely admit I had some happy thoughts when I saw Ducks forward and former Minnesota standout Mikael Granlund score the tying goal against the Sabres with 1:44 left in regulation.
When her first son was born, Pierce would regularly bring Hudson to Wild practice and conduct interviews in the locker room with the baby in a carrier at her chest. Minnesota reporters say Granlund would regularly come across the room and ask to hold the baby, and Hudson came to respond to Granlund whenever he would see him.
Somewhere in that great arena in the sky, I can only imagine what Jessi Pierce thought of Granlund's key goal last Sunday, coming in his first game after we lost her and her kids. May they rest in peace.
Granato a great choice by USA
Former Sabres coach Don Granato was named last week as the head coach for Team USA in this year's World Championships in Switzerland, and that continues his long association with USA Hockey.Granato's imprints are all over the Sabres' long-awaited playoff run, especially with the way he helped shape the development of major players on the roster such as Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson. I would think Granato would get another chance behind an NHL bench, especially now that his Sabres contract is expiring. The USA's role will definitely expand its profile.
Former Sabres coach Don Granato was named last week as the head coach for Team USA in this year's World Championships in Switzerland.
Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
I really thought Granato would have been a great choice for a developing team like the Seattle Kraken, who instead chose longtime NHL assistant Lane Lambert. Teams who have a lot of young prospects should consider looking Granato's way. He has inordinate amounts of patience and the right temperament for those kind of players.
Around the boards
- According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and the Athletic, next season's schedule will start on Sept. 29 and end April 10. Remember, we're going to 84 regular-season games next season and (hallelujah) cutting the preseason to just four games, thus creating the first September start in league history. And with no Olympic break, we're still ending six days earlier than the 2025-26 schedule.
- Colorado defenseman Brent Burns, 41, has played in 996 consecutive games to pass Keith Yandle (989) for second on the all-time list. Burns will get to 1,000 next Saturday in Dallas and then we see if he returns for a 23rd season to break Phil Kessel's record of 1,064. Burns is still contributing with 28 points, a plus-28 rating and an ice-time average of 18:56.
- Carolina's official Twitter took a nifty shot at former North Carolina State basketball coach Will Wade on Thursday when it posted a picture of ’Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour with the simple notation "Built for Raleigh." The Hurricanes and NC State hoops share Lenovo Center and Wade bolted the program Thursday after one year to return to LSU.
