Buffalo Sabres unveil some awesome line combos in practice

Training camp is a great time for experimentation, but Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato had some eerily interesting lines going on Friday. 

On Friday, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News Tweeted out five line combos and four defensive pairings that could end up seeing ice time in the regular season. They do not closely resemble mine or the line combo projections of others, but they are not farfetched.

Let’s assume for a second that these are either the line combos we will see bust out come October 13th or that they will be some variation thereof. Are they better than what we saw last season, or would Granato be better off going with something else?

Grading the potential Buffalo Sabres line combos for 2022-23

Just about everyone is expecting to see the Skinner-Thompson-Tuch combo, myself included. But I’m not opposed to putting Thompson on the same line as Quinn and Olofsson.

Quinn showed ability to create and set up scoring opportunities multiple times this preseason while Olofsson has among the most dangerous one-timers on the team. Thompson is the most productive center who can instantly elevate the productivity of Quinn and Olofsson.

I love the second line combo, with Skinner and Tuch flanking Mittelstadt. The duo combined 101 points last season while Mittelstadt struggled with just 19. Putting two proven wingers next to him would be a genius move on Granato’s part.

There is no line I love more than the Krebs-Cozens-Peterka line, and it’s one I paid little attention to. When you think of a checking line with three high-energy players possessing a tenacious mindset, these three come to mind.

Asplund, Girgensons, and Okposo give the Sabres a viable fourth line with the former serving as a good defensive forward that can use the forecheck to keep the Buffalo Sabres in possession. Okposo proved to be a productive piece in 2021-22 while Girgensons can win faceoffs and become that physical presence.

On the fifth combo, which would comprise extra skaters, we see Matt Savoie, Anders Bjork, and Vinnie Hinostroza. Savoie will head back to Winnipeg, but his presence on this extra skater combo shows us he’s close, and will be in a Buffalo Sabres uniform next season. Hinostroza makes for a good extra skater, so Bjork is my only real gripe here. Sheahan would be a better option.

Buffalo Sabres defensive pairings look realistic

I don’t believe Jeremy Davies will be that extra skater. Instead, I see Ilya Lyubushkin on the third pairing, linking up hopefully with Lawrence Pilut, who was not listed. However, he could also pair well with Jacob Bryson or Casey Fitzgerald, though both need to step up their defensive games.

The Samuelsson-Dahlin pairing and Power-Jokiharju pairing would be accurate and unsurprising. Both duos worked well together during the final stages of the regular season in 2021-22, and their relative youth could make them regular parts of the team for the next half-decade.

Craig Anderson, Eric Comrie, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen also worked in as the goaltenders when these combos were playing. And they are often regarded as the top three goaltenders in the system.

Overall, I believe these could easily be the lines that we see on opening night against the Ottawa Senators. And if they are not, expect to see some type of line combo resembling them. It wouldn’t surprise me if Quinn and Olofsson moved down a rung, though I can’t help but support them on the top scoring line with Thompson while Skinner and Tuch line up alongside and potentially elevate Casey Mittelstadt.

You will not, however, see the Buffalo Sabres using these combos today against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Instead, look for a mixture of the players listed above and prospects, most notably Matt Savoie.