Eichel, Sabres look to get back on track vs. Rangers

Jack Eichel still maintains a close relationship with David Quinn. He refers to his former coach at Boston University as a friend and a mentor, and he was thrilled to see Quinn earn his first NHL head coaching gig with the New York Rangers during the offseason.
None of that will stop Eichel from doing everything in his power to make sure Quinn doesn't earn his first career win in Buffalo.
"He was so good to me at BU and we have such a good relationship," Eichel said. "But I think we're all competitors, right? When you get out there, all you're doing is worrying about trying to help your team win.
"… I'm just so happy for him. I think he'll do great. He can win all the games he wants except for when he plays us. Other than that, I wish him all the best."

Eichel and the Sabres will look to rebound from an opening-night loss to Boston when they host the Rangers on Saturday night. Coach Phil Housley spoke passionately about the areas in need of correcting for the Sabres following that 4-0 loss to the Bruins, namely puck management and defensive detail.
Housley thought more of the team's performance after reviewing the film and getting his emotions in check, but his message of simplifying the game stood.
"It's those plays as we're entering the zone where we've got to be smarter," Housley said. "We look like a much faster team when we keep pucks moving ahead and we're able to get on the forecheck. The worst thing out of that [for the opponent] is when the other team's got to earn a breakout.
"When we don't do that, we come back, we defend, and on that next rush we don't seem like we have the speed we had in the initial rush. That's a little bit of focus for us, maybe just simplifying our game."

Eichel echoed that message, admitting after the game on Thursday that he felt he forced passes in situations that warranted a shot mentality. His objective against the Rangers is to play fast and take what's given.

"I don't think I was too happy with my game," Eichel said. "I thought maybe I was thinking a little bit too much and trying to force things. I just want to come out first period and try to attack their defensemen, put them on their heels and try to get pucks to the net. I think that's normally what sparks my game."
That's the exact approach that made another BU alum, Evan Rodrigues, successful against the Bruins. Rodrigues centered a line with Zemgus Girgensons and Jason Pominville; together they combined for five shots and arguably Buffalo's two best scoring chances at the net front.
"I think we got pucks deep," Rodrigues said. "We won some battles and once we got it behind their D, we kind of took over in the corners and that led to some good chances. We have to continue to do that again today and hopefully bury some of the chances we get."
Saturday's contest will be the second of a four-game homestand for the Sabres, giving them an opportunity to get back on track at home before leaving for a long five-game homestand on the West Coast next week.
"It's a tough test," Eichel said. "No games in this league are easy so we know it's going to be hard. We're excited about the challenge. It's a good opportunity for us to get our first win in front of our home fans. But we know it's not going to be easy. We've just got to be ready to go when the puck drops."

Lineup notes

Vladimir Sobotka will not play after missing practice on Friday with an upper-body injury. Sobotka skated on his own Saturday morning and remains day-to-day. He'll be replaced in the lineup by Remi Elie, making his Sabres debut.
You can read more about Elie, who was claimed off waivers from Dallas earlier this week, here.
Sobotka, who has experience at center and on the wing, was used in a support role on Casey Mittelstadt's line against Boston, often taking defensive-zone draws in place of the young center. Zemgus Girgensons will be bumped up to Mittelstadt's line in his absence.
Housley used Girgensons in that role alongside Mittelstadt during the team's preseason game in Toronto on Sept. 21, when the young center often found himself lined up against Maple Leafs star John Tavares. While Housley still found it important to give Mittelstadt veteran support against the Rangers, the coach has seen improvements in his defensive game in recent weeks.
"He's put a lot of time and effort into his game since the start of training camp," Housley said. "His first couple exhibition games there were some defensive breakdowns, but he's really worked hard on that part of his game and you could see the development in the [preseason finale against the Islanders] and even in the game against Boston.
"I really liked the way he attacked the game. He was very defensively sound, he came through the neutral zone with speed, so his development's moving in a good direction."
Conor Sheary will remain on the top line with Eichel and Sam Reinhart, while Jeff Skinner is expected to skate alongside Patrik Berglund and Kyle Okposo. Here's how the lineup could look based on Friday's practice, with Carter Hutton slated to start in net:
43 Conor Sheary - 9 Jack Eichel - 23 Sam Reinhart
53 Jeff Skinner - 10 Patrik Berglund - 21 Kyle Okposo
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 72 Tage Thompson
81 Remi Elie - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 29 Jason Pominville
6 Marco Scandella - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
19 Jake McCabe - 26 Rasmus Dahlin
82 Nathan Beaulieu - 8 Casey Nelson
40 Carter Hutton
35 Linus Ullmark

Scouting the Rangers

The Rangers have a new coach and new system, but Housley expects much of the same from a lineup headlined by Mats Zuccarello and Mika Zibanejad: speed.
"Well, they still are incredibly fast," Housley said. "They've got a lot of team speed, so we have to be aware of that. They'll still stretch the zone. There're some little tweaks in their system structure, I think they're trying to attack the game more, their forecheck in the neutral zone forechecks a little different so we look at that through film.
"But their characteristics are the same. They've got a lot of team speed, especially up front. We have to be aware of that and that goes back to simplifying our game, so we can try and take away some of that speed."
New York lost its season opener at home to Nashville on Thursday, 3-2. Jesper Fast and Pavel Buchnevich scored goals for the Rangers in that game and Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves.

How to watch

Tonight's game can be seen live on MSG-B, with pregame coverage set to begin at 6:30 p.m. You can also listen to the game on WGR 550. The puck drops at 7.