Fire
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BUFFALO, NY -- The Buffalo Sabres didn't rebuild from scratch.
Don't let the franchise's headline-generating class of rising young stars convince otherwise.
Buffalo was reforged through strategy, embracing fundamentals and a return to the basic principle of walk before you run -- or more aptly, lose (copiously) before you can win.
Yet, there was no scorched-Earth scenario. Rather, it was a pack of Sabres' veterans -- namely Kyle Okposo, Zemgus Girgensons, Jeff Skinner and Craig Anderson -- quietly nurturing the club's foundation with seeds waiting to bloom.