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Islanders, Sabres sport new looks after key departures

Oct 5, 2007 - 2:06 PM NY Islanders (0-0-0) at Buffalo (0-0-0) 7:30 pm EDT

BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Islanders face the Buffalo Sabres as both teams open their 2007-08 campaigns on Friday.

After making it to the Eastern Conference finals last season, the Sabres watched as many of their key players left the team in the offseason through free agency.

Former captain Chris Drury joined the New York Rangers after having his best season in a Sabres uniform in 2006-07, scoring 37 goals while adding 32 assists. Daniel Briere, who led Buffalo with 63 assists and 95 points, also chose to play elsewhere, signing with the Philadelphia Flyers.

While their offense took a hit, the Sabres defense corps from a year ago remains intact. All-Star Brian Campbell, who posted a career-high 48 points, leads the blue-line unit after finishing last season at plus-28 without missing a single game.

The Islanders also suffered key losses during the offseason, none bigger than left wing Jason Blake. The 34-year-old led the Islanders with career highs of 40 goals and 69 points in 82 games and made his first career All-Star Game appearance. New York will miss Blake's consistency as he has registered 20 or more goals in each of the last four seasons.

Goaltender Rick DiPietro, who inked an NHL record 15-year, $67.5 million contract with the Islanders before the 2006-07 season, will look to bounce back from hip surgery during the offseason.

DiPietro, the only goalie to be selected first overall in the NHL draft, set a career high and tied a team record with 32 wins last season while tying his personal best of five shutouts. The 26-year-old posted a 2.58 goals-against average with .919 save percentage.

Friday's game will be the first of two games pitting the cross-state rivals. The Sabres will travel to Long Island on Saturday for the second game.