Buffalo Sabres: Five storylines with twelve days till Opening Night

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The Buffalo Sabres have hit training camp in full stride and have played a few exhibition games during the past several days. A few story lines will be important to follow throughout the next twelve days as the Sabres prepare for the regular season on October 13th against the Montreal Canadiens.

Rasmus Ristolainen

When the World Cup of Hockey ended for Team Finland yesterday, thus making Rasmus Ristolainen officially a holdout. The restricted free agent spoke prior to the World Cup indicating he hasn’t heard from the Sabres in a while but wasn’t worried, believing a deal would eventually get done.  In fact, as a gesture of good faith, he has been skating with the club once he came back.  It's just a matter of time until this gets done.

Matt Moulson

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Last season was very disappointing for veteran forward Matt Moulson will look to show last season was a fluke. A roster spot is by no means guaranteed to the 32-year old winger. He’ll need to come into camp and earn one of the final spots on the roster.

Sabres GM Tim Murray questioned Moulson’s work out habits last season, so at the very least he’ll need to show he can keep up with the pace the Sabres want to play with. Far too often Moulson was behind the play and slow to react last season. Under contract for the next three years at a $5 million dollar cap hit, the Sabres are hoping for a bounce-back season.

Robin Lehner

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Last season was a lost year for newly acquired goaltender Robin Lehner due to his ankle injury that caused him to miss all, but 21 games. Lehner spent the summer in Buffalo rehabbing from ankle surgery in April. The big Swede has been cleared for full participation in training camp and appears to be in good shape.

It’s no mystery that if the Sabres hope to be a playoff team this season, that Lehner will play a huge role in that. It’s important for him to get off to a good start and stay healthy throughout the season. There’s not much in the system behind Lehner that can sustain the team in the case of a long-term absence.

Evander Kane

Evander Kane was a story after the first day of training camp with some of his comments about his off- ice issues. However, the focus here will be how Kane performs on the ice. He had a decent first season in Buffalo on the ice, but the Sabres will look for more from the 25-year old winger.

The organization is hoping that Kane can keep a low profile and keep his focus on the ice. He’ll play important top six minutes for the club likely with either Ryan O’Reilly or Jack Eichel. If Kane can avoid being a distraction he may be in line for a big season.

Final Roster Spots

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Head Coach Dan Bylsma discussed today how the final spots on the roster will certainly be up for competition. In particular, he mentioned the 13th forward and seventh defenseman positions. Beyond that, the Sabres could have openings in their bottom six and sixth defenseman roles.

Players like Justin Bailey, Hudson Fasching, William Carrier, Alex Nylander, and Cal O’Reilly will be in competition for one of the final forward roster spots. The hope is that Bailey is able to earn one of the spots after a good end to last season with the Sabres and AHL affiliate Rochester Americans. His speed and size would be a great addition to the bottom six of the roster.