Buffalo Sabres Could Roll The Dice And Play Zemgus Girgensons On The Second Line
If the Buffalo Sabres choose not to add scoring to the left wing, can playing alongside two young phenoms lead Z to the promised land?
The Buffalo Sabres are still looking for scoring on the left side of the ice to pair alongside the dynamic duo of Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart.
Should the team not make any significant acquisitions the rest of the offseason, Dan Bylsma and the rest of the coaching staff are going to have to tinker with their line combinations to find the best match for what should be a line that produces over 100 points in 2016-17, and as excited as I am (sarcasm alert!) to see Nicolas Deslauriers skate alongside Eichel and Reinhart, there is one young player who could definitely use some talented playmakers to help him regain his scoring touch, and that is none other than Zemgus Girgensons.
No, Girgensons really doesn’t deserve the honor of skating on the second line, not by last season’s effort anyways. And no, Girgensons isn’t the long-term solution to the lack of left-wing scoring the Sabres suffered from outside of Evander Kane in 2015-16. Hell, it’s sort of silly to even be discussing this, since the man destined to skate alongside Eichel and Reinhart for as long as he is healthy is Tyler Ennis . . . but I’m not a giant fan of Ennis’ style of play, so let’s picture a line of Girgensons-Eichel-Reinhart.
When you look at the HERO chart that was generated over at Own The Puck, you’ll be presented with a nice, colorful visual that tells you what you already knew: Z struggled to do much of anything positive on the offensive end of the ice last season. His points per 60 minutes were that of a fourth-line player, for goodness sakes – but the Sabres would not be putting him alongside Eichel and Reinhart with the intention of watching Girgensons create plays. Rather, Z would be on the wing feeding off of not one but two capable playmakers, so his job would be simply to find the scoring touch that netted him 15 goals in 2014-15.
Still, you have a 20-goal scorer in Ennis, so why wouldn’t you pencil him in on the second line? What does Girgesons do that would earn him the nod over Ennis? Play physical and possess the hell out of the puck, that is what. If you want a line that is Stay-Puft marshmallow soft, go right ahead and roll out Ennis-Eichel-Reinhart. To be fair, Reinhart’s possession numbers are impressive, but Eichel’s are atrocious, and Ennis is somewhere in between. Meanwhile, Girgensons provides grit and physicality matched with speed, which would give that second line a touch of nasty. Say what you will about Girgensons, but despite the fact that he only scored 7 times last season, his +/- on the year was dead even, so if you want to keep the second line from giving up nearly as many goals as it scores, Z is an option.
Next: Sabres Can, And Cannot, Afford Kevin Shattenkirk
The Buffalo Sabres should not necessarily be content with the options they currently have when it comes to who will play left wing alongside Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, but should the team come to an agreement with Zemgus Girgensons regarding his contract, it wouldn’t hurt during training camp to pair him up with the two in order to see what that line can produce. His speed and tough play might provide a nice compliment to the playmaking of Eichel and Reinhart and help Zemgus make fans forget about his abysmal 2015-16 campaign.