Obviously, it’s never a good winter in Buffalo. And winter never stops, so I’m told. Anyway, the one thing that can make the time pass in the darkest months on the shores of Lake Erie is a hockey team worth watching. Kids, the Buffalo Sabres will very much be worth watching this season. So the residents may only need two batches of foot warmers each day. If you’re in search of a second team or are unaffiliated but need a team slightly below the glitterati to pay more attention to, and kind of attach yourself, the Sabres are probably the ticket. Mostly because they have firepower for days. This is a team that will come as close to a real-life version of “Hit The Ice” as any (was I the only one to ever play this game? With the live octopus on the ice? Forget it). Sabres games are going to feature goals, goals, goals dancin’ on…well, not the Sunset Strip. Whatever strip Buffalo has. Chippewa Street doesn’t really roll off the tongue to parody Motley Crue. The Sabres return a lineup that had four players who racked up 70 points or more last season, six who had 59 points, or more, four 30-goal scorers (and Victor Olofsson who had 28), and two #1 d-men, or two d-men with #1 potential, who soup up this team’s motor something fierce. It’s led by Tage Thompson, who took a few years to figure out how to play Denis Savard’s game while also being 6-6, but at age 25 put it all together for a 47-47-94 statline that came somewhat out of nowhere. It is truly a sight to see someone this big dance through entire defenses, and the angles he can create with that reach flummox a lot of goalies. Thompson will have his two main running buddies back in Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner. The latter used to be the poster boy for the “Yeah, but who gives a sh*t?” All-Stars, indicating that his 40-goal seasons were 40 goals that never came close to mattering. With the Sabres very likely having something to play for this time around, should be a keen watch on what he does when the chips are down in March. Tuch has become just about the most annoying two-way demon in the league, something of a traveling company show of Mark Stone. Fans of any other team learn to dislike him pretty quickly because every shift he’s up someone’s ass and causing turnovers and finishing off chances and generally creating a ruckus. What makes the Sabres so fun is they’re hardly one line. Dylan Cozens anchors the second line, and they sport Olofsson, and Casey Middlestadt, as well as breakout candidate JJ Peterka. Sadly, shoot-from-anywhere Smash TV weapon Jack Quinn ruptured his achilles in the summer (must’ve been some intense golf) and is likely out until at least the new year. The Sabres’ real strength though is the cheat code of having both Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin on the blue line. Both are squaring up to be top pairing puck movers, which means for at least two-thirds of every game the Sabres have someone on the ice to get them up the ice. Power’s scoring hasn’t reached the heights that Dahlin’s has, but he’s also four years in arrears in experience, with last year being his first full season in the league. Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton were brought in to play centerfield for both, though Matthias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju may relegate either, or both to the third-pairing. Are there problems? Of course! It wouldn’t be the Sabres if there weren’t problems! The big one is in the crease, where they’re turning things over to a child. That would be Devon Levi, who is 21, and dominated at Northeastern the past two seasons as well as backstopped Canada last winter to WJC gold. But it’s a huge ask to turn a team’s hopes onto a goalie that has seven professional games of experience. But they might have to, as the alternatives of Eric Comrie, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen make baby Jesus cry. On top of that, whoever is in the mask for the Sabres is going to have a lot of work to do. Sure, the Sabres have a lot of offensive weapons, but they also had the habit of pointing them at their own goalie last year too. Buffalo had the fourth-worst xGA/60 at even-strength last year, Though they didn’t give up a ton of attempts. Which means that they were reverse-efficient, making sure whatever they gave up was basically a prime chance. Being this loaded with young forwards generally means there’s a steep learning curve to teach them how to play with and without the puck and on both sides of the ice. Those lessons have to be picked up quickly this year for the Sabres to get into the playoffs. The Atlantic Division is still something of a stone bitch as well. It’s hard to gauge what the Bruins or the Lightning will be given what they’ve lost through either retirement, attrition, or injury. But it’s hard to fathom either will be bad. The Leafs are still loaded, the Panthers could be anything, the Senators are on the same arc as the Sabres, and the Red Wi…..HAHAHAHA just kidding the Wings still won’t matter. #YzerPlanForever (and it’ll take forever). That’s a lot to navigate through to get into even a wildcard spot, and even more when attempting it with a rookie goalie, and so many important players being under 25. But hey, nothing worth having comes easy. And it’ll be a lot of fun finding out if they’ve got the sand. Get on board now, you’ll be happy telling people you did later. Follow Sam on Twitter @Felsgate and on Bluesky @felsgate.bsky.social
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Prediction: Watford win
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The FA Cup semi-finals are upon us, as four teams attempt to take that one last step towards the final at Wembley which is where they ll also be playing this weekend. Manchester City and Brighton Hove Albion are set to square off in the first of the two semis later on today, but tomorrow, the attention will turn towards Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers. These two clubs have been silently battling one another in the race for seventh over the course of the last few months, and now, they ll tussle in one of the biggest games of their respective recent histories.
Watford
Watford have flown under the radar for much of the season as one of the most consistent sides outside of the top six. Everyone was expect…
Real Madrid will play to save their season in Tuesday s Champions League clash with Wolfsburg, according to head coach Zinedine Zidane.
The 2014 winners were surprisingly beaten 2-0 in the quarter-final first leg this week and must win by three goals in the return game at the Santiago Bernabeu if they are to ensure a place in the last four without the need for a penalty shoot-out.
With Madrid facing the prospect of a trophyless campaign and Zidane s future still shrouded in doubt, concerns have been raised that supporters will voice their frustration throughout Saturday s Liga meeting with Eibar.
Zidane, however, says he has no concerns at present over his long-term position at the club and is confident the fans will back them both on Saturday and for Wolfsburg …
Manchester City will take on four-time winners Barcelona in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the second straight year.
City ensured progression to the knock-out stages with a 2-0 win at Roma in their final Group E game.
And they have received the dubious reward of a two-legged tie with the Catalan club, who beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 last week to ensure top spot in Group F.
Manuel Pellegrini s men will be out for revenge in the tie, having suffered elimination courtesy of a 4-1 defeat to Barca last term.
Barca s arch rivals Real have been drawn against Schalke as Carlo Ancelotti s men continue their bid to defend the crown they won for the 10th time in May.
That tie is also a repeat from the previous campaign, when Real hammered t…
Carlo Ancelotti has backed Karim Benzema to play a big part in Real Madrid s end to the season.
The French striker has come in for criticism as Madrid have struggled for goals domestically in recent weeks, despite his brace against Liverpool in their 5-2 win at Anfield in the Champions League last-16 first leg.
Ballon d Or holder Benzema has scored 11 goals in 15 LaLiga games but has not netted in his last three in all competitions, and he will be missing from the team for Saturday s home game with Espanyol because of an ankle injury.
He was a key player for us [last season], he performed incredibly, scored more than 40 goals, Ancelotti said at a press conference on Friday.
It affected us a bit [earlier this season] because he couldn t reach his top lev…
Heimir Hallgrimsson would be delighted if Iceland emulated Leicester City and secured an unlikely triumph at Euro 2016.
Iceland, appearing at their first major tournament, reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship with a sensational 2-1 win over England on Monday.
Their charge to the last eight has drawn comparisons to the surprise exploits of Leicester, who shocked the football world by claiming a maiden Premier League title in 2015-16.
The two places have a similar population around 330,000 and joint-coach Hallgrimsson admits he does see comparisons between Iceland and the English champions, and would love to see a similar story play out in France.
I really would like things to end like they did with Leicester, said Hallgrimsson at a med…
Custodio insists Portugal will fight for their place in the Euro 2012 final ahead of their semi-final clash against holders Spain.
The last time the two Iberian rivals met in a competitive game was in the 2010 World Cup, where Vicente del Bosque s side ran out 1-0 winners over Portugal.
Many have put Portugal down as the underdogs for Wednesday s game, but midfielder Custodio feels there are no favourites between the two sides.
Spain favourites? I cannot quantify who is favourite, the Braga man said.
I do not know if we have a 20, 30 or 50 percent chance of going through. What I know is that we will fight hard to get a place in the final.
Will this be Portugal s year? I hope so, we will fight to make it so.
Spain are a great side who…
Mauricio Pochettino said Tottenham supporters should be optimistic about the future as he set his sights on making a quick return to the Champions League final following a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in Madrid.
The Spurs manager admitted his side s game plan was undone when Mohamed Salah scored a penalty for Liverpool after two minutes of the showpiece at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Divock Origi s late strike put the game out of Tottenham s reach, but Pochettino had nothing but praise for Tottenham s efforts.
We can be proud of the effort, how we fought to arrive at this final, Pochettino told BT Sport.
We were very unlucky we conceded a goal from a penalty but to the end we were alive, fighting, I think we played so well. It was a tough situation that changed…
Montpellier president Louis Nicollin announced on Tuesday he will quit the club at the end of the 2014/15 Ligue 1 season.
The outspoken owner of Montpellier almost single-handedly dragged the south-eastern French club into Ligue 1, taking charge of the then-amateur outfit in 1974 and becoming the sole shareholder 15 years later.
In 1987, Montpellier returned to the French top tier and went on to the win the Coupe de France in 1990 and the Ligue 1 title in 2012.
Nicollin was crucial in rebuilding the club that almost went bankrupt in the 1970s but he revealed on Tuesday that the upcoming season will be his last in charge.
I am stopping here, on the day that the club was founded 40 years ago, the 71-year-old told French radio station RTL.
I will g…
The Italian Sports Court has decided to suspend Milan Brazilian Ronaldinho for an incident that occurred in the Coppa Italia match against Lazio on December 3, 2008.
In the 70th minute, Ronaldinho elbowed Lazio defender David Rozenhal in the face and the panel has deemed that the movement was quite clearly intentional, mostly due to the unnatural height and movement of the ex-Barcelona player s elbow on the play. Dinho has been banned for the next three matches in Coppa Italia, that means in the next season, as far as Ac Milan lost 2-1 to the Biancocelesti.
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Bolivia and Peru stand against each other in Copa America s Group A second round. Bolivia were comprehensively beaten by event hosts Brazil, while Peru played a goalless draw against Venezuela.
Bolivia
Bolivia didn t fare well in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, and it s worth remembering that they failed to get through the group stage of the Copa on six of the last seven editions of this tournament. They can be very tricky when playing at home, but that won t help them here.
Before the Brazil defeat, they lost three pre-tournament games to South Korea, Japan and France. They failed to score a single goal, and carried that form into their opener against the hosts with Philippe Coutinho and Everton Soares making sure of that.
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