Preview: Bruins kick off the 2018-2019 season in Buffalo

Just the facts

When: 7 PM

Where: KeyBank Center - Buffalo, NY

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Die by the Blade

Know your enemy

The Sabres haven’t played yet, so there’s not a ton to know. Massachusetts native Jack Eichel was named captain yesterday, so that’s cool.

Game notes

• If you don’t write about a game, it never happened, right? Right. I don’t know what you’re talking about, there was no game last night.
• Jaroslav Halak was supposed to start this game tonight, but it’ll be interesting to see how Bruce Cassidy approaches it. Tuukka Rask didn’t last half a game in that game that was never actually played, and you could make an argument for getting Rask right back out there to try to shake off that performance.
• The Sabres are an interesting team, and one that could be a thorn in the side of a team like the Bruins this season. They’re not expected to seriously challenge for a division title or anything like that, but they have enough talent to make things interesting. Jeff Skinner should bring some speed and talent, and Jack Eichel is still very good.
• This is an exciting game for Sabres fans, as it marks the NHL debut of Rasmus Dahlin, the first pick in this year’s draft. Defense and goaltending will likely be sore spots for the Sabres this season (unless Carter Hutton can catch fire again), but Dahlin isn’t likely to be among them. The teenager has immense skill and plays older than his age.
• Who knows what the Bruins do up front tonight. Do you shake things up in a bit of a panic after a dud in Washington, or do you let things ride and hope they sort themselves out? The David Krejci line wasn’t terrible (all things considered), but the other three units ranged from bad to “oh God, make it stop.”
• Given the debacle in DC, there’s a chance the B’s elect to make a lineup change of some kind tonight. It could be Anders Bjork drawing in somewhere, or could be a change on the blue line (Urho?!). Again, though, it’s hard to saw how Cassidy will approach this game. My guess is a “burn the tape” type approach, but he could choose to tinker.

Never forget

MIRO THE HERO.