Boston Bruins 2015-16 Division Rivalry: Buffalo Sabres
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
With the 2015-16 season approaching, it seems fitting to touch-base and size up the Bruins in comparison to each of their division rivals. The Boston Bruins had a mixed result when playing within their division, and this series of stories will explain what the Bruins have to do, and have to avoid to succeed within the Atlantic in the 2015-16 season. The fourth team to be analyzed will be the Buffalo Sabres.
The 2014-15 season was a rough one for the Boston Bruins, mixed with injuries, bad cap-management, and really just poor-effort almost all the way around, which led to the first missed playoffs since the 2006-07 season for the Bruins. The series between the Bruins and Sabres ended in favor of the Bruins with Boston winning three of the four, and taking one point in the fourth. The Buffalo Sabres will be a much different team this season than they were in the 2014-15 season though.
With recent additions of players like Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, Zack Bogosian, Evander Kane, and others, Buffalo is a far more dangerous team in 2015-16 than they’ve been in a while. Buffalo will have a lot of firepower on offense and that doesn’t bode well for the weakened defense of the Bruins that is missing Dougie Hamilton and is still sorely missing the loss of Johnny Boychuk. If the Bruins can find a way to tighten up defensively and help out Tuukka Rask then the offense of the Sabres shouldn’t be impossible to contain. On the flipside of the Sabres offense is their makeshift defense.
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The Sabres might have loaded up their front-end with star potential players, but their back-end is lacking the personnel to truly shutdown any offense in the NHL. The Bruins didn’t find the back of the net often last year, but were able to score 13 goals in their four meetings with the Sabres last season, which works out to 3.25 goals-per-game. Three goals-per-game is usually enough insurance for Tuukka Rask to pull out a win, and Boston will be looking to improve goal scoring in general against every team, making Buffalo no exception.
The Boston Bruins should be able to continue their success against the Buffalo Sabres in the 2015-16 season, but they won’t be the same bottom-dwelling Sabres that they faced over the last two seasons. Discipline and focus will be needed for the full 60 minutes in every game if Boston wants to win these important divisional matchups. It isn’t wise for any team to feel comfortable at any time, especially when the Sabres are looking to upset a lot of teams this year.
What do YOU think the Bruins will have to do to succeed against the Buffalo Sabres this season? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Find out how the Bruins can succeed against the Montreal Canadiens here, the Toronto Maple Leafs here, and the Detroit Red Wings here!
Next up: Ottawa Senators