Buffalo Sabres: Mittelstadt is bringing his linemates down
Just a few short weeks ago, I informed the Buffalo Sabres faithful that Casey Mittelstadt was playing better than most gave him credit for.
Lately, Casey Mittelstadt hasn’t just been playing his worst hockey of the season; he also seems to infect anyone he’s playing alongside. His line has been by far the worst, so much that head coach Don Granato seems to be doing all he can to salvage the line, with inserting Vinnie Hinostroza being his latest act.
And you have to ask yourself, “When do you reinsert Krebs and just sit Mittelstadt?” Sure, the former first round pick has been stellar on the power play, and for a while, he looked good in winning faceoffs. But Mittelstadt has lost 29 of his last 37 faceoffs, and his performance at 5-on-5 has just been flat out abysmal.
The Buffalo Sabres need to improve the Mittelstadt line
So what do you do? Start calling up AHL talent and see if they can remedy the problem? Not the best idea out there, as those guys are in the AHL for a reason, and that reason is that they are simply not ready to play at professional hockey’s highest level.
But would it really hurt to play Peyton Krebs and sit Mittelstadt? Let Krebs center a line that could include Victor Olofsson, Rasmus Asplund, or Hinostroza, and maybe the Sabres will have something here.
No guarantees, as Krebs has not looked good this season. But again, it wouldn’t hurt, considering Mittelstadt’s new low. Or, perhaps Granato can just start rotating the five guys on the line until he finds something that clicks.
Related Story. Sabres top six is becoming one of the NHL’s best. light
And I understand why he is hesitant to pull Mittelstadt from the lineup. This is a former eighth overall pick. in his sixth season And when you make such a high investment in a player, you want to see maximum returns. But right now, no one who plays on that line regularly has over 13 points and has done anything really worth noting. Unless you count the power play, but the Sabres need more.
Article Source: Observations: Sabres blow another lead, pull out win on Jack Quinn’s shootout goal by Lance Lysowski
Want your voice heard? Join the Sabre Noise team!