Would Linus Ullmark have made the Buffalo Sabres serious contenders?

Former Buffalo Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark is having the best season of his career. What if he was still in the net for the Blue and Gold?

Linus Ullmark is having an outstanding season for the Boston Bruins. He is currently 17-1-1 with the club, has a GAA of 1.93, and a save percentage of 0.938. And while the Buffalo Sabres have an serviceable goaltender in the aging Craig Anderson, the latter’s body cannot handle the rigors of an 82-game schedule, which explains why he is in the net about 40% of the time.

Therefore, the Blue and Gold have been regulated to watching the ill-equipped Eric Comrie and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonnen toil in the net for most of the season. And while Luukkonen enjoyed an outstanding game last night, his 0.876 save percentage and 3.75 GAA is something to cringe at.

Further, the Sabres may be in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, but they currently hold a +14 goal differential, the ninth-best in the NHL. They have also scored more goals than any team, and seven ahead the #2 squad, who happen to be the Bruins. So would the Sabres be serious contenders with Ullmark in the net?

Buffalo Sabres would be better with Linus Ullmark

Given their spotty defensive play and rash of injuries in the defensive rotation, the Sabres wouldn’t be as good as the Bruins, whose defense is among the NHL’s best. Odds are, they helped Ullmark snag a few more wins and outstanding numbers, and Ullmark helped secure W’s in other instances.

But Craig Anderson, in his 12 appearances this season, has also shown that the defense isn’t entirely to blame for the Sabres 14 regulation losses and two overtime losses. Anderson’s 2.71 GAA and 0.921 save percentage is remarkable. And if he were a few years younger, the Blue and Gold would most likely be better off, as he would withstand more carnage between the pipes.

That takes us back to Ullmark. His numbers would probably be in the range of Anderson’s, but he would have logged more starts. My guesses are that they would have defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier in the season, and may have even beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins in both instances last week.

I also believe Buffalo still would have hit a lean stretch in November, but to a lesser extent. Therefore, my overall estimate is that the Buffalo Sabres would be something like 17-11-2 with overtime losses coming to another two teams they lost close ones against in regulation, good for 36 points. But when you look at the Eastern Conference now, especially the Atlantic Division, the Sabres are top-end wild card contenders at best in this scenario.

Overall, they would be a better hockey team. But I don’t believe they would contend seriously for top playoff spots for at least another season or two.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)

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