This is both the same Rangers team of recent years, and different, but it remains one with its sights set on bigger things, one that has made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for seven straight seasons and is attempting to get back to the Stanley Cup Final, which it reached in the 2013-2014 season
It is different for the Sabres, a team trying to find its footing with a new coach in Phil Housley and a budding star in Eichel. For Housley, and for the Sabres, it's about building -- a strong team, a leadership core, a group that can take Buffalo back to the playoffs, where it has not been since 2011.
"So far this year this group of Sabres is struggling to find their way," Camp says. "At best, a work in progress."
That's what Housley is trying to change, what he's trying to create, as the Sabres themselves try to focus on the future and what's to come.
But for now, the Sabres might need more help with their bowling skills, as multiple players show off their gutter balls and unimpressive form, all in the name of charity. The Sabres are participating in their Bowl-A-Rama event, benefitting the Buffalo Sabres Foundation, enduring some jibes and gentle mocking from the fans paying to be there.
Fortunately, they know they deserve the ribbing, none more than Zach Bogosian, who seems aware of where his athletic gifts truly begin and end.