The Buffalo Sabres have seen a few ups and downs over their first two regular season games. Here is a look at who has impressed, and who must improve.
This week, the Buffalo Sabres will make their first road trip and they are flying into hostile territory in tilts with the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, and Seattle Kraken. But the Sabres are also coming off of two inspiring performances that involved a statement win over the Ottawa Senators and a narrow loss to the elite Florida Panthers.
We saw some players and units get off to hot starts this past week while others appeared to be stagnant. So who’s hot heading into the first road trip of the season and who has some work to do? Keep reading.
Hot: Buffalo Sabres goaltenders
Crag Anderson and Eric Comrie looked beyond solid in their season debuts. Anderson earned the First Star Award in Thursday’s win over Ottawa while Comrie snagged a Third Star in Saturday’s loss vs. Florida.
Both goaltenders, slated to be among the league’s worst duo, should see action in this road trip and look to emulate last week’s success. The plan is to keep Anderson fresh and on a pitch count, and if the Sabres manage that, you will see plenty of legendary performances this year.
Not Hot: Sabres first line
The Sabres primary first line of Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson, and Victor Olofsson are a combined 0 for 12 in shots on goal when you take out the latter’s two empty-netters. And while it isn’t time to panic just yet, it didn’t stop head coach Don Granato from mixing things up late against the Panthers.
Is this a sign that Olofsson should return to the second line and Tuch to the first, which was the main pairing last season? It might be worth a try.
Hot: J.J. Peterka
What could go right in Peterka’s first two games this season has gone right. He has one goal, one assist, and he nearly had another goal. Every time the rookie took the ice last week, you noticed him, whether it involved battling for the puck, driving the puck, or putting pressure on opponents.
This came after Peterka saw some struggles during the preseason, but he appears to be catching on fast. In the first two games, he has seen just 11:05 of ice time, and you can expect that number to increase if he keeps delivering strong performances.
Not: Owen Power
Power has been invisible through the first two games, posting one block, one giveaway, and two shots attempted. But you can’t just blame Power, as half the defensive rotation has looked stagnant.
His possession metrics, however, have been horrendous, with a Corsi For% of 40.6% at even strength and a Fenwick of just 39.6%. One area that I like though, is the 96.3% on-ice save percentage, showing opponents are far less likely to score with Power on the ice.
Overall, I see Power’s struggles as his first real taste of adversity in the NHL, something he will overcome with relative ease. Perhaps this week when the Buffalo Sabres take the ice in Edmonton.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)