Buffalo Sabres: Will Casey Mittelstadt take advantage of opportunity?
By Sion Fawkes
Casey Mittelstadt found himself centering the Buffalo Sabres first line in Jeff Skinner’s absence last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It seems like no one on the Buffalo Sabres roster in recent years has been given more opportunities to succeed than Casey Mittelstadt. And it also seems like he only needs to have one good game to land back in head coach Don Granato’s good graces, considering his promotion to the top line following a three-point game and Jeff Skinner’s suspension.
Last night in Pittsburgh, Mittelstadt didn’t score, though he showed aggression, logging three hits. He also looked good once more in the faceoff realm after spending about a month struggling to get anything going. He won seven out of 10 last night, and 18 of his last 30, good for an FOW% of 60%.
But over the past five contests, we have seen zero goals, and just three assists, all of which came in the Sabres overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Friday night. He also has just seven shots on goal over his past five outings, zero blocks, and his three recorded hits came in last night’s game.
Buffalo Sabres are giving Casey Mittelstadt an opportunity to shine
Casey Mittelstadt was a first round pick for a reason: He is capable of playing solid hockey. But his inconsistency has seen way more downs than ups over his five full seasons with the Blue and Gold.
Sure, it’s great to see that he coaching staff hasn’t given up on him, but the door is closing fast. You have prospects like Isak Rosen, Jiri Kulich, and Matt Savoie raring to snag a spot on the Sabres roster in time. And that will leave Don Granato, Kevyn Adams, and Company at crossroads to decide what to do with Mittelstadt.
In short, he needs to take full advantage of this opportunity on the first line. And when Skinner returns, he needs to keep the momentum going until either a) the Sabres trade him anyway, which should at least increase his value somewhat, or b) he plays well enough to stave off the up-and-comers for at least another season and a half.
Mittelstadt has one more year left on his contract to make it happen if he takes advantage and the Sabres keep him onboard. But as it stands, showing flashes, as he has done over the past two games isn’t enough.
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So will he take advantage of the opportunity handed to him? The odds say no. And the presence of Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch may also inflate any positive return in his game over the next two contests. This is assuming the Sabres don’t put someone else at first line center, of course.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)
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