Things couldn’t have looked bleaker for Buffalo Sabres forward Vinnie Hinostroza two months ago. Now, he’s become an integral part to this team.
No one on the Buffalo Sabres has taken more of an advantage of their chances than Vinnie Hinostroza. Buffalo waived Hino in January after they couldn’t trade him, and he spent time with the Rochester Americans before receiving the call up thanks to star winger Alex Tuch’s injury.
Frustrating? Absolutely. But Hino also embraced his role with the Amerks, where he put up nine points, five goals, and four assists. When Tuch went down with a lower-body injury, he was naturally the first call up, and since then, Hinostroza has been remarkable.
Is he Alex Tuch? No. But is he a serviceable player proving himself capable of holding things down until Tuch returns? Most definitely. In the four games he’s played in Tuch’s absence, Hinostroza has four points, two goals, and two assists.
Vinnie Hinostroza will remain an important part of the Buffalo Sabres
At least for the rest of the season, Hinostroza will continue to be a go-to chess piece for the Sabres. No, you won’t see him playing often when Alex Tuch returns or perhaps even when Jordan Greenway arrives – depending on what head coach Don Granato decides to do regarding the latter.
But he will be insurance if another star player goes down with an injury, be it Jeff Skinner, Dylan Cozens, or even Tage Thompson. As with Tuch, don’t expect Hinostroza to produce at their level, but you also won’t see a huge drop-off if he had to come in and play in spot duty for any of the aforementioned players.
Overall, I was glad to see him stay in the system, even if it meant a stint in Rochester, knowing that if one of the top players went down, he could fill in immediately. His aggressive offensive play so far since his return has shown us that he can play.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference and Amerks.com)
Source: Observations: Sabres stand up for themselves, snap skid with win over Lightning by Lance Lysowski, BuffaloNews.com
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