Game on! Sabres schedule released
The Sabres' schedule is front-loaded with games at HSBC Arena, but after Jan. 10 their travel gear will get heavy use.
A quick glance at the Buffalo Sabres' 2009-10 schedule makes one thing plainly obvious: If the Sabres want to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007, they better get off to a fast start because they have a ton of home games early and a ton of road games late.
That's the biggest impression you get from the 82-game slate released Wednesday by the team and the National Hockey League. Buffalo opens play on Saturday, Oct. 3 against Montreal in HSBC Arena and has five of its first six games at home.
That stretch includes an Oct. 13 visit by defending Western Conference champion Detroit and an Oct. 16 game against the New York Islanders, featuring the Buffalo debut of No. 1 overall draft pick John Tavares.
The Sabres play 12 of their first 19 games at home. When the calendar hits Jan. 10, they will have played 26 of their 44 games downtown. Then things really start to turn.
Buffalo has a seven-game road trip in January and a five-gamer in March. The Sabres play five of their six April games on the road — and 11 of their final 16 overall away from HSBC Arena.
Under the NHL's scheduling formula, the Sabres play six games (three home, three away) against the other four teams in the Northeast Division, four games (2-2) against the other 10 teams in the Eastern Conference, two games against Western Conference at-large opponents Detroit, San Jose and Phoenix, and one game against the West's other 12 teams.
The most notable visit by a West team is the Dec. 11 game against Chicago, which will mark the return of South Buffalo native Patrick Kane and the first visit to HSBC by longtime Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell since he was dealt to San Jose in February 2008. Campbell signed as a free agent with Chicago last summer.
On the day he was traded, one of his most memorable comments was to ask the fans not to boo him when he returned like they have with former captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. The Hawks didn't come here last year so the question of how Campbell would be received was not answered. We'll find out in Chicago's first game here since Dec. 15, 2007, when Kane scored the only Hawks' goal in a 3-1 Buffalo victory.
The schedule is dramatically different than past seasons because of the break for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
The NHL will suspend play from Feb. 15-March 1 for the Olympics. The Sabres will have an even longer break: Their final pre-Olympic game is a Feb. 13 visit to the arena by San Jose and they don't return to action until a March 2 game at Pittsburgh.
The schedule will thus be more compressed, with Buffalo facing 15 games in December and 14 in January to compensate for only playing seven in February.
Speaking of Vancouver, pity the poor Canucks. They go 43 days without a home game (Jan. 27- March 10) and play 14 straight on the road — eight before the break and six after the Games. To compensate, they will have an eight-game homestand in December and play 10 of their final 15 games at GM Place.
Some more nuggets from the Sabres' schedule:
Timing is everything
Friday night home games are at 7:30. The Wednesday, March 24 showdown against Montreal also starts at 7:30, while all the others are at 7. Easy enough.
There are a few wrinkles to the road schedule, notably a 1 p.m. start in Philadelphia on Nov. 27 (the day after Thanksgiving), a 3 p.m. game Jan. 3 in Montreal and 5 p.m. starts for the March 21 game in Carolina and the April 11 finale in New Jersey.
Other marquee visits
Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh makes its two trips to Buffalo in a 10-day span, on Dec. 19 and 29. Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin leads Washington to town on Dec. 9 and March 3. Tavares and the Islanders are here Oct. 16 and Nov. 4.
The New York Rangers, featuring Drury and newly signed former Sabre Ales Kotalik, are here Dec. 5 and April 6. Briere's Philadelphia Flyers come to town Nov. 6 and March 5.
Back to back
There are 18 sets of games on consecutive days — including an unusual four Friday-Saturday combos with both contests at home.
They go like this: Oct. 16-17 (Islanders-Thrashers), Dec. 18-19 (Maple Leafs-Penguins), Jan. 8-9 (Maple Leafs-Avalanche) and March 26-27 (Senators-Lightning).
Long trips
Here are the itineraries the Sabres will have on the see-the-USA junkets (with one game in Canada thrown in):
January: 14, Atlanta; 16, New York Islanders; 18, Phoenix; 19, Anaheim; 21, Los Angeles; 23, San Jose; 25, Vancouver.
March: 13, Detroit 16, Atlanta; 18, Tampa Bay; 20, Florida; 21, Carolina.
Breakdown by days
Home: Friday (14), Wednesday (11), Saturday (9), Tuesday (4), Thursday (2), Monday (1).
Overall: Saturday (23), Wednesday (16), Friday (15), Thursday (8), Monday (8), Tuesday (7), Sunday (5).
Long time, no see
The Dallas Stars appear in HSBC on March 10, nearly 4 years after their last visit on Dec. 14 2005. The Edmonton Oilers (Nov. 11), Calgary Flames (Nov. 13), Colorado Avalanche (Jan. 9) and Minnesota Wild (March 12) are all coming to town for the first time since February and March, 2007.
The Sabres' Jan. 25 game in Vancouver — just 18 days before the Feb. 12 Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics — will be their first in GM Place since Jan. 19, 2006. They will travel to Nashville (Oct. 10) and St. Louis (Dec. 27) for the first time since December 2006.
For a driveable road game, Buffalo plays Feb. 6 at Columbus in its first trip to Nationwide Arena since Jan. 26, 2007.
Football follies
The Sabres will host Montreal Thursday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. — the same night as the Bills-Jets game in Toronto's Rogers Centre.
The team will also go head-to-head with Monday Night Football on four consecutive weeks with road games at Toronto (Nov. 30, Dec. 21) and Montreal (Dec. 14) and a home game against New Jersey (Dec. 7).
Around the rink
The team will announce its ticket prices and game designations for its variable pricing plan later this month. ... The preseason schedule will also be finalized shortly. The Red Wings have announced they will host Buffalo on Sept. 19 and the Capitals say they'll meet the Sabres in a home-and-home Sept. 21 in Verizon Center and a date to be announced in HSBC. ... In other Sabres news Wednesday, Angola native Patrick Kaleta accepted the team's qualifying offer and signed a one-year deal for $550,000, a 10 percent raise over his $500,000 salary from last year. Kaleta had four goals, five assists and 89 penalty minutes in 51 games last season.
2009-10 Buffalo Sabres schedule
| Day | Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat. | Oct. 3 | Canadiens | 7:00 |
| Thu. | Oct. 8 | Coyotes | 7:00 |
| Sat. | Oct. 10 | @ Predators | 8:00 |
| Tue. | Oct. 13 | Red Wings | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Oct. 16 | Islanders | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Oct. 17 | Thrashers | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Oct. 21 | @ Panthers | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Oct. 24 | @ Lightning | 7:30 |
| Wed. | Oct. 28 | @ Devils | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Oct. 30 | Maple Leafs | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Oct. 31 | @ Islanders | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Nov. 4 | Islanders | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Nov. 6 | Flyers | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Nov. 7 | @ Bruins | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Nov. 11 | Oilers | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Nov. 13 | Flames | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Nov. 14 | @ Flyers | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Nov. 18 | Panthers | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Nov. 20 | Bruins | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Nov. 21 | @ Senators | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Nov. 25 | @ Capitals | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Nov. 27 | @ Flyers | 1:00 |
| Sat. | Nov. 28 | Hurricanes | 7:00 |
| Mon. | Nov. 30 | @ Maple Leafs | 7:00 |
| Thu. | Dec. 3 | Canadiens | 7:00 |
| Sat. | Dec. 5 | Rangers | 7:00 |
| Mon. | Dec. 7 | Devils | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Dec. 9 | Capitals | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Dec. 11 | Blackhawks | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Dec. 12 | @ Rangers | 7:00 |
| Mon. | Dec. 14 | @ Canadiens | 7:30 |
| Wed. | Dec. 16 | @ Senators | 7:30 |
| Fri. | Dec. 18 | Maple Leafs | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Dec. 19 | Penguins | 7:00 |
| Mon. | Dec. 21 | @ Maple Leafs | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Dec. 23 | @ Capitals | 7:00 |
| Sat. | Dec. 26 | Senators | 7:00 |
| Sun. | Dec. 27 | @ Blues | 6:00 |
| Tue. | Dec. 29 | Penguins | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Jan. 1 | Thrashers | 7:30 |
| Sun. | Jan. 3 | @ Canadiens | 3:00 |
| Wed. | Jan. 6 | Lightning | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Jan. 8 | Maple Leafs | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Jan. 9 | Avalanche | 7:00 |
| Thu. | Jan. 14 | @ Thrashers | 7:00 |
| Sat. | Jan. 16 | @ Islanders | 7:00 |
| Mon. | Jan. 18 | @ Coyotes | 7:00 |
| Tue. | Jan. 19 | @ Ducks | 10:00 |
| Thu. | Jan. 21 | @ Kings | 10:30 |
| Sat. | Jan. 23 | @ Sharks | 10:30 |
| Mon. | Jan. 25 | @ Canucks | 10:00 |
| Wed. | Jan. 27 | Devils | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Jan. 29 | Bruins | 7:30 |
| Mon. | Feb. 1 | @ Penguins | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Feb. 3 | Senators | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Feb. 5 | Hurricanes | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Feb. 6 | @ Blue Jackets | 7:00 |
| Tue. | Feb. 9 | Bruins | 7:00 |
| Thu. | Feb. 11 | @ Hurricanes | 7:00 |
| Sat. | Feb. 13 | Sharks | 7:00 |
| Tue. | Mar. 2 | @ Penguins | 7:30 |
| Wed. | Mar. 3 | Capitals | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Mar. 5 | Flyers | 7:30 |
| Sun. | Mar. 7 | @ Rangers | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Mar. 10 | Stars | 7:00 |
| Fri. | Mar. 12 | Wild | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Mar. 13 | @ Red Wings | 7:00 |
| Tue. | Mar. 16 | @ Thrashers | 7:00 |
| Thu. | Mar. 18 | @ Lightning | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Mar. 20 | @ Panthers | 7:00 |
| Sun. | Mar. 21 | @ Hurricanes | 5:00 |
| Wed. | Mar. 24 | Canadiens | 7:30 |
| Fri. | Mar. 26 | Senators | 7:30 |
| Sat. | Mar. 27 | Lightning | 7:00 |
| Mon. | Mar. 29 | @ Bruins | 7:00 |
| Wed. | Mar. 31 | Panthers | 7:00 |
| Thu. | Apr. 1 | @ Maple Leafs | 7:00 |
| Sat. | Apr. 3 | @ Canadiens | 7:00 |
| Tue. | Apr. 6 | Rangers | 7:00 |
| Thu. | Apr. 8 | @ Bruins | 7:00 |
| Sat. | Apr. 10 | @ Senators | 7:00 |
| Sun. | Apr 11 | @ Devils | 5:00 |
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