Noted Observations: Game 2 vs. Florida

Matthew Tkachuk wreaks havoc in a Panthers 4-3 win against the Sabres

BUFFALO — You knew, I knew, everyone knew that Matthew Tkachuk joining the Florida Panthers was going to raise the temperature in the Eastern Conference, especially in the Atlantic Division. The Buffalo Sabres’ first taste of the experience went about how you’d expect it to go.

Tkachuk delivered hits with questionable timing, mixed it up after a whistle constantly throughout the game, and drew the ire of just about every player in blue and gold for 60 minutes. He came as advertised and delivered the way the Panthers want him to. He had a goal, an assist, two minor penalties (one earned after the game ended when he tussled with Dylan Cozens), and two points in the standings. All in a day’s work.

Selfishly, the timing couldn’t be any better as I wrote about Tkachuk and how he makes the Panthers look a lot meaner on the ice with his studies in the way of the pest. After the Sabres firsthand look at him in action with his new team, there’s a new public enemy in the division.

Alex Tuch knows Tkachuk well enough from their time together at the USNTDP and playing against him out west with the Vegas Golden Knights. None of it came as a surprise, of course, but he’s still difficult to wrangle now.

“That’s the type of hockey he’s going to play, I knew it, and you know what, that’s something he wants to bring to the table, and I’d say a lot of us don’t really want to give him the time of day, but sometimes you have to stick up for your teammates,” Tuch said. “Sometimes it’s good, and then other times, let him run around out there and let him take himself out of plays.”

Of course, the feeling was mutual from the other side of the equation and a lot more foreboding.

“Well, there's some guys over there I'll be playing against for the next eight-plus years, especially with some of the stuff that happened at the end that they did, we'll remember that for a while,” Tkachuk said postgame.

There was a time when Sabres-Panthers games would be the one you’d probably skip going to or watching entirely. That time is over. Tkachuk changes the entire view on things. Imagine if these two teams get to see each other in the postseason someday.

There were some other things noticeable through the game:

Goalie Talk

It’s not too often you see a 4-3 score line and think about goaltending being in an overly positive light, but new Sabres goalie Eric Comrie was very good.

He weathered through 37 shots, 30 of which came in the first 40 minutes of the game and held the door when the game got much tighter in the third period. With how frantic the pace of the game was early on, he had to be on top of things. Lest we forget the Panthers were the best regular season team in the league last year. The pace coupled with some sloppy play early on meant Comrie had to be on his game.

Nothing like a baptism of fire to start your Sabres career.

“I think that was just for myself, nice to get in the rhythm, get into a little bit of work for a little bit because it’s always nice to get a couple of the shots because it settles you into a game because there’s a little bit of nerves playing your first time with your new team,” Comrie said. “You’re always excited to get out there and get a part of it and just be with the guys.”

Comrie was really proud of the way the team played in front of him and he thrives on the challenge. He told the coaching staff in training camp that he wanted to get his preseason starts on the road where the opponents would have a more loaded lineup and the Sabres would have a…less than veteran squad in front of him. He wants the smoke—he can’t get enough of it.

“He was awesome,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “He was good, dialed in, competitive again. Things didn’t bother him and he plowed through. So, a lot of conviction. He played with conviction. That shows experience.”

We’ve discussed goaltending to death already leading up to the season, but Comrie is who to keep the closest eye on. Anderson is much more of a known quantity so what you get from him is already expected and known. Comrie is slightly more of a mystery because of the lack of NHL work, but this is also his big chance to take the lead job and run with it. This was a good start on that path.

Dahlin bandwagon should be filling up quickly

Remember when we wrote about how Rasmus Dahlin gave up giving a shit what people think of him almost a month ago? He’s put all of that into action in the first two games and it’s like he’s a completely different player because of it.

He scored a goal for the second straight game, was very hard on the puck and on opponents physically everywhere, and if it wasn’t Tkachuk in the middle of a scrum, it was Dahlin mixing things up himself.

It is wild to think that the guy we saw being targeted by every team to get hit who didn’t really ever get involved in scrums or engage in overly physical stuff at all is now drawing the attention of the opposing team because he’s the one starting shit and hitting people.

*Sniff*

They grow up so fast…

Line shuffles

Granato mixed up lines and pairs a bit about halfway through the game looking for a jolt. Things got a bit more familiar.

Jeff Skinner—Tage Thompson—Alex Tuch

Dylan Cozens—Casey Mittelstadt—Victor Olofsson

Jack Quinn—Peyton Krebs—J-J Peterka

Zemgus Girgensons—Rasmus Asplund—Kyle Okposo

Rasmus Dahlin—Henri Jokiharju

Owen Power—Mattias Samuelsson

Jacob Bryson—Ilya Lyubushkin

Last season’s top line was reunited and Cozens replacing Skinner on the left wing of Mittelstadt and Olofsson is a move that could’ve been anticipated based on how well Cozens played on the wing during World Championships.

Oddly enough, Cozens swapping with Quinn somehow made for an even younger iteration of a Kid Line. Pardon me while I wither away like King Viserys Targaryen, just without the leprosy.

Swapping the defense pairs is interesting and is one to watch. Owen Power is feeling his way through things right now, and he hasn’t been notable in the first two games apart from a couple of turnovers. If Samuelsson becomes his partner for the next little while, it might be the key to allowing him to loosen up offensively and do what he does best.

Coaches already know what Dahlin and Jokiharju can do together, there’s plenty of video of that, but how Dahlin’s game flourished with Samuelsson is something they may have in mind for Power should that switch stick into the western road trip.

Final note

It really stinks the Panthers and Sabres won’t meet again until January because a game like this that had all kinds of skill and talent on display along with a whole lot of bite is one that leaves you wanting more. It’s rare to get a regular season game that has playoff-level nastiness, even more so when there’s no history between the teams and it’s the second game of the season. That the Sabres took licks and fired back and stayed in the game is a positive development. In previous years, they would’ve been bullied all over the ice and lost by more than three goals.

You can’t move forward if teams know they can push you around without repercussions, and the Sabres have more than enough guys on the team now to serve it up other teams should they need to do it.

This isn’t advocating for fighting or any of that nonsense, but a team with some teeth to it is good, particularly when the goal is to get back to the playoffs sooner than later.