Sabre Noise
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Three Sabres “hot takes” for the 2021 NHL season

By Jacob LeBlanc

Mar 5, 2020; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe (19) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2020; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe (19) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 18, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Buffalo Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) watches the puck in the corner during the third period against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Buffalo Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) watches the puck in the corner during the third period against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Linus Ullmark is a top-10 goalie

Linus Ullmark has shown improvement since becoming a rotational starter for the Sabres. And he now looks like he will be the primary number one goalie for Buffalo to start the season, while Carter Hutton serves as the back-up goalie.

Ullmark has shown improvement each year since being in the NHL. He has been a rotational starter for the Sabres since 2018. From the 2018-2019 season to the 2019-2020 season he improved his goals against average (GAA) by almost 0.5 goals per game and he improved his save percentage (SV%) by .010. Both of those are a decent improvement in terms of goalie stats in the NHL.

An improved team around Ullmark could also make it easier for him to post better numbers. If the team can take some pressure off the goalies by scoring more goals and have more sustained possessions to keep the opposing scoring chances to a minimum, that could lead to more efficient goalie play from Ullmark.

Ullmark ranked 23rd in the league in GAA with 2.69, and he ranked 20th in SV% at .915 in the 2019-2020 season. I think he is going to post a GAA of 2.50 with a SV% of .921 this season. Last season a GAA of 2.50 would have ranked 10th, and a SV% of .921 would be ranked ninth.

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