The Buffalo Sabres go into tonight’s game facing myriads of concerns and no, Jack Eichel isn’t one of them unless it involves scoring more than his team.
The Buffalo Sabres are currently riding a three-game losing streak in what has been their worst stretch of the season. And while it’s fair to give the Sabres the benefit of a doubt following last week’s losses to the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning, losing to the Arizona Coyotes certainly sparked some major concerns.
Tonight, the prospect of facing Jack Eichel should be the least of this team’s worries. And instead, they need to focus more on getting back on track and snagging a W against the Vegas Golden Knights by addressing the following issues before and during the game tonight.
Major Concern #1 – The lineup
I don’t know about you, but I was not fond of the lineup on Tuesday night. And in case you’re wondering, here is what the Sabres lineup looked like at practice yesterday following their loss to Arizona.
Sabres’ lines/pairs at practice with Jokiharju back:
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) November 9, 2022
Skinner-Thompson-Hinostroza
Peterka-Cozens-Tuch
Asplund-Mittelstadt-Olofsson
Girgensons-Krebs-Okposo
Quinn is the extra
Bryson-Dahlin
Pilut-Power
Clague-Fitzgerald
Jokiharju rotating in. Lyubushkin not practicing.
This one, assuming the Thursday morning skate looks/looked similar, is an upgrade over what we saw on Tuesday night, when Casey Mittelstadt was with the first line of forwards. I like the prospect of Hinostroza lining up alongside Skinner and Tuch, as the Sabres tend to win when he is in the lineup.
I’m also a fan of the third line, where you have a defensive forward in Asplund, the sniper in Olofsson, and arguably the team’s best faceoff specialist in Mittelstadt. This lineup, overall, looks stronger than the one we saw on Tuesday and it could pay dividends tonight.
Major Concern #2 – Shot selection
This was a major issue for the Sabres on Tuesday. They lacked the physicality displayed against a very good Tampa Bay Lightning team a few days prior, and it cost them in the shot selection department.
While the Sabres did drive the puck at times, they far too often found themselves shooting from the perimeter and it translated to just one measly goal from Tage Thompson. Tonight, the Sabres need to drive into and through the slot often, using their bodies to put themselves in prime scoring position if they expect to beat Vegas.
Major Concern #3 – Playing all 60 minutes
This has been a struggle for the Sabres all season, where they seem to get flat for at least one period, if not longer. If they let their guard down against Vegas, this game is not going to end the way they and everyone else wants it to.
That said, the Buffalo Sabres need to put in a 60-minute effort if they plan on knocking off what is right now the Western Conference’s best team. And doing so will give them a lot of momentum as they continue their homestand on Saturday night against a mighty Boston Bruins team.
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