BUFFALO (LGS) — What will happen when the Buffalo Sabres step onto the HSBC Arena ice Friday night in their season opener?

That's the question fans all over Western New York, Southern Ontario and the rest of the globe are asking themselves. And the answer is only hours away.

After more than four months of waiting, the Sabres finally play another game that counts as the New York Islanders travel to Buffalo to face-off with the Sabres in a 7:30 p.m. match-up that is the first half of a home-and-home series.

For Buffalo, the focus of the season will be on surviving without their two best centers from a year ago. The off-season departures of co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury made headlines and dominated the local sports world for months.

The players will finally get their chance to prove their critics wrong.

"As much as I respect what Danny and Chris did for us, I think people need to give this team more credit," Sabres' goalie Ryan Miller said. "Without detracting from Chris and Danny, and this'll come off wrong, but they didn't do it all."

Despite the loss of their leading scorer and their leading face-off man, the team still returns quality talent. Wingers Thomas Vanek, Maxim Afinogenov and Jason Pominville, as well as centers Tim Connolly and Derek Roy return. The team is hoping they can elevate their play and fill the gaps left by the departures of Briere and Drury.

The return of Connolly will be most important, as the 26-year-old centerman will need to stay healthy and produce for the team to succeed.

In other news, the team will skate Friday without winger Ales Kotalik (knee) and defenseman Teppo Numminen (heart).

With the loss of Numminen, the team will showcase a new array of captains to begin the year. Jochen Hecht will wear the "C" on his jersey for the month of October. He was the choice of the fellow teammates.

For the visiting Islanders, the summer months were just as tumultuous as Buffalo's. After being eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs last season by the Sabres, New York watched 4 starters leave for various reasons. Jason Blake, Tom Poti, Viktor Kozlov and captain Alexei Yashin all departed, with Yashin's contract being bought out by the team due to his lack of production.

Replacing them brought Mike Comrie, Jon Sim, Ruslan Fedotenko, Josef Vasicek, defenseman Andy Sutton and new captain Bill Guerin into the fold.

However, one spot remained unchanged for the Islanders: goaltender. That is where Rick DiPietro reigns supreme for another season. Entering the second year of his unprecedented 15-year contract, the Islanders' starting goaltender appears recovered from his health issues that plagued him throughout the conclusion of last season.

LGS FUN FACTS

♦ The Sabres and Islanders are no strangers when it comes to opening night face-offs. The last time they met in this situation, the NHL returned from the lockout with a Sabres victory on October 5, 2005. Exactly two years to the date, the two teams square off in the same capacity.

♦  Buffalo has a combined record of 17-4-1 in October over the past two seasons. This puts them atop the league with the best October points percentage (.795).

♦  Tonight marks the 37th season opener in Sabres franchise history. Buffalo holds a record of 20-13-3 in season openers, good for sixth among the 30 current active teams. In the 22 season openers played at home, the Sabres are 14-5-3 (fifth best in the NHL).