Fans’ take on how the Buffalo Sabres should improve
With a team that’s 0-6 since resuming play at 2-0-1, the Buffalo Sabres have caught their fans’ attention
Buffalo Sabres fans routinely put their souls into a franchise that has given them little to cheer for over the past decade. It’s all but a foregone conclusion their team will suffer an NHL record 11th-straight season without a playoff appearance. And to make matters worse, the Sabres have given their fans a lot of fools gold along the way.
The current regime of Kevyn Adams and Don Granato seem to be improving things. Or at least they’re trying to, with numerous moves such as the Jack Eichel Trade that netted the Sabres two key players and draft picks. Plus, they will sell at the trade deadline, hoping to find a few more diamonds in the rough akin to Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs.
The fans have taken notice of the team’s most recent struggles, and the moves Adams and Granato have made since their arrivals are not enough. What else do the Sabres need to do? Here are the majority takes from the greatest fans in the NHL following the team’s loss to the Dallas Stars.
Improve Goaltending
While to be fair, the Sabres defense has not played well in recent games and goaltenders like Craig Anderson have made highlight reel-worthy saves, it still isn’t enough. Great players, regardless of the sport, can elevate talent of those around them. Anderson and fellow goalie Dustin Tokarski have not done that.
Here’s a staggering statistic: In their last five games both Anderson and Tokarski have a save percentage lower than 90% in three games apiece. Against the St. Louis Blues, Tokarski bottomed out with just an .818% percentage. Sunday’s loss to Dallas marked Anderson’s third straight game with a save percentage under 90%.
Enter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who is currently down in Rochester. Luukkonen needs every chance he can get to prove that he’s the goalie of the future. And we know two things: The Sabres’ future goalie is neither Anderson nor Tokarski. Following an epic game last Friday in which UPL saved 98.1 percent of his shots on goal against, you would think the Sabres have him slated to return to the NHL sooner than later.
Solve the Lower Lines
While the Sabres have something brewing in their first line, even amidst a six-game losing streak sans the Montreal game when head coach Don Granato had to shuffle the lineup because of a few curveballs, the lower lines remain a mystery. But should they?
In the loss to Dallas, Granato paired Rasmus Asplund and Kyle Okposo to the Cozens line. But let’s be honest: At 33, is Okposo really part of this team’s future? The Sabres need to set the lower lines with players who may be playing at the KeyBank Center in the coming seasons.
Asplund may be there. Ditto for Cozens. Peyton Krebs has become a staple at forward since arriving from Vegas. At this point, it makes more sense to put him onto the Cozens line over Okposo.
While he hasn’t shown as much consistency, Olofsson is still sixth on the team in points with 24 compared to Asplund, who has just 18. Asplund has also played in 52 games this season compared to Olofsson’s 44. Olofsson needs to supplant Okposo at left-wing on the second line. Put Krebs at center, and kick Cozens out to right-wing, and you might have a viable second line.
Meanwhile, let Okposo play on the third line. Ditto for Asplund. Okposo, while productive, won’t be around when this team’s winning games. There’s no reason to keep him in on a scoring line. As for Asplund, he’s not producing at right-wing.
Those who are producing better offensively need higher priority here. Guys like Casey Mittelstadt, who have ridden the Bust Label, need to take the defensive and energy lines until the prove themselves capable of producing.
Let the Kids Play
One popular fan theory is that the Sabres are keeping Luukkonen in the AHL so they can spend the rest of the season tanking. And it’s highly logical, since the Sabres can better their chances of winning the NHL Draft Lottery to snag the first overall pick.
Luukkonen, despite a 2-5 record this season, has performed better than Anderson and Tokarski. In December, he went four straight games with a save percentage of 92 or better. In short, the Sabres need him in Buffalo so he can develop. And they also need to develop young talent starting after the trade deadline at the latest.
We don’t know if J.J. Peterka can potentially help out this team five years from today. But we know Cody Eakin will take this team nowhere. We also don’t know if Brandon Biro will become a viable contributor. But we know Mittelstadt’s underperformed.
We don’t know much about how well any of the kids down in the AHL will contribute. But we’ve seen enough of the present to realize, amidst a six-game losing streak, that what’s going on right now needs to change. And really, if the Sabres go this route and play the kids, odds are they’re not going to win many games down the stretch anyway.
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Get Luukkonen up here. Get Peterka up here. Play Jack Quinn if he’s able to return this season. Biro, Ruotsalainen, and others. See what you got in the kids and give them NHL experience.
(All statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)