Buffalo Sabres: A way too early look inside the numbers

Defensemen

In terms of defenseman usage, the first 3 games have panned out as expected prior to opening night. The biggest disappointment thus far has been the absence of Zach Bogosian. All indications were that Bogosian would start the season healthy and potentially play with Rasmus Dahlin. He has yet to see the ice however he did practice with the team on Wednesday:

"“I thought he looked good…more of a day-to-day situation. We’ve been really cautious with Zach. Getting back to practice is a good sign.” – Head Coach Phil Housley"

Much like last season, Marco Scandella and Rasmus Ristolainen have led the Sabres defensemen in time on ice. Ristolainen has continued to be the top used defenseman, also being part of the top penalty kill and power play units. Meanwhile, Ristolainen is the only defenseman with multiple points and Scandella has the lone goal from a defenseman.

Player                                 Average Time on Ice
Rasmus Ristolainen                 25:36
Marco Scandella                        21:03
Jake McCabe                               19:49
Rasmus Dahlin                          19:26
Casey Nelson                             16:53
Nathan Beaulieu                       13:14

The defenseman everybody was excited to see was Rasmus Dahlin and the results are positive considering these are his first 3 game in the NHL. He has yet to notch his first career point and he has been used sparingly on special teams, especially the penalty kill. That being said, Dahlin was on the ice against the top 2 lines of the opponent in the last 2 games.

The biggest surprise has been the steadiness of Nathan Beaulieu and Casey Nelson. The two defensemen, playing as the third defense pairing, have led the team in CF% rel and they are a combined -1.