This is a team coming out of its rebuild and into its build phase. It has the potential to contend as it matures and as the roster is further tweaked.

The Sabres got physical right off the bat against the Blue Jackets after a team meeting about reactions to the Tage Thompson hit.

Ryan Reaves, one of the NHL’s most well-known tough guys, hasn’t dropped the gloves this season. While fighting it down across the board in the NHL, there have been 156 of them. That Reaves is ...